The Queen of Nightmares
by Marigold Fire
Summary: Summer has passed and Queen Elsa of Arendelle is alone after she has saved her kingdom from endless winter. Pitch Black finds her and although he is infuriating (why does he always have to scare her?), he is incredibly alluring too. Together they form an alliance in order for Pitch Black to be seen by the people, and in doing this they have to take on the Guardians together...
1. Chapter 1: Seeing is Believing

**The Queen of Nightmares**

A Frozen and Rise of the Guardians Fan Fiction Novella

Pitch X Elsa, Bunnymund X Toothiana

By Marigold Fire

Chapter 1: Seeing is Believing

Elsa, the Snow Queen of Arendelle, stood by her solitary window gazing out at her land of white. Summer had passed and with it the bitter memories of her self-inflicted exile, after the most disastrous coronation in the history of her people. As the sunshine had slowly turned to morning dew, so too had the memories of her past of fear and pain. Fear of what she could do with her wintry powers, and the pain of realising it had always been in her control.

The answer had been love.

Love had thawed the frost that Elsa had unwillingly bestowed upon her land. Elsa's sister Anna had sacrificed her life for her and Elsa knew it was because she had realised this simple equation too. Then Anna had found her true love- Kristoff, and they had married in the fall.

Leaving Elsa alone.

It's not that she wasn't used to being alone. On the contrary, Elsa had spent most of her childhood locked in this very room, too scared to open the door. But after she had brought Summer back to Arendelle and restored peace to the land, she had imagined her life would change somehow. Sure, she created ice rinks for her people and hosted snow days now, but nobody came to see her just for her. Just to say hello, or to see how she had been lately. Not even Anna wanted to build a snowman with her anymore, and Elsa found herself wishing that Anna would come knocking on her door.

But Anna didn't live in the castle anymore and the guards and attendants wouldn't dare approach the Snow Queen, so Elsa found herself utterly alone…or so she thought…

A rustle from inside her room made Elsa turn away from the window, so her long blonde braid swung over her shoulder and her sparkling blue eyes searched for the source of the sound. The empty room leered back at her, mocking her solitude and she sighed; did she so desperately want company that she was imagining things now?

Elsa turned away from the emptiness to longingly gaze at the life blossoming below her again, when rushed footsteps pattered across the floor behind her. She flipped around with hands poised to attack with an ice beam, but nothing greeted her again. Elsa twirled her hands in the air in annoyance, creating a swirl of snowflakes to release the tension building up inside her. She mustn't let this get to her, for she had known since she was a child that fear was her enemy.

Elsa strode across the room and sat down on the four poster bed to prove her point: There was nothing to be afraid of here. But when the sound of fingernails screeched against the wooden planks beneath her mattress, Elsa gave a small gasp as the hair began to rise along her neck. Should she scream? Call the guards? Would anybody hear her?

She forced herself to laugh, "I'm not afraid of the Bogeyman" she said out loud, as though this would eradicate the fear slowly constricting her chest. "Show yourself!" She commanded, feeling rather ridiculous talking to what was possibly nothing.

But to her immense surprise, a substance like black oil began to spill out from under her bed and she lifted her feet in terror so that it wouldn't touch her. Slowly the black substance rose into the air and took the form of a tall dark stranger with eyes speckled with silver and gold, and pale skin stained with the black oil that seemed to emanate from him. He was the most terrifying thing Elsa had seen for a long time, equal to what she saw when she looked in the mirror as a child. She held her breath. There was the same fear reflected in his eyes now. Her own fear.

"Pitch Black, at your service, your highness", the stranger said in a voice like velvet, taking a long sweeping bow at Elsa's feet. Elsa breathed out, her breath coming out in a cold fog, which only revealed an inch of the fear that was casting a storm inside of her. Pitch Black looked up at her, a small frown on his face, and she closed her mouth, which she had only just realised was hanging open.

Pitch laughed softly, "Not quite the effect I was hoping to have on you, but not the one I thought I would have either so I can't complain…still…" He drew himself up to his fullest height and towered over Elsa in an intimidatingly grand way, "You recognised me and that's worth something".

"You're really the Bogeyman?" Elsa asked, feeling five years old again. Pitch's laugh echoed around the room and she looked behind herself in confusion, that sound hadn't even looked like it had come from his mouth. She turned back to face him with a tight lipped expression, but he had vanished again.

The laugh stopped too.

Elsa peeked under bed to check if he was hiding there but there was only an empty space and dust. She slowly lifted her head to scan the room for signs of him when he hung upside down from the ceiling, with a whisper of "Boo" centimetres from her face. Elsa screamed and Pitch Black rolled his eyes in pleasure, laughing in her face for real this time.

At this point, Elsa decided that Pitch was insufferable.

Elsa screwed her face up in anger and yanked his arms so he fell from the ceiling. She would have been worried for him, but he landed on his feet like a black panther, full of feline grace and strength. "You're a nightmare" Elsa said darkly. She had never had much of a sense of humour and Pitch was trying her patience. Pitch turned away from her and she was about to apologise for offending him, (why, she had no idea), but then she glimpsed the satisfied smile that crept along his gaunt and handsome face.

"That wasn't a compliment" she added, suddenly annoyed at his ability to take her insult in such a way. "It is to me, your highness" Pitch said, his smile widening, showing teeth sharper than that of the average man. In fact, there was nothing average about Pitch Black at all, that's what made him so incredibly (yet infuriatingly) alluring. "And why is that?" Elsa demanded, her usual calm demeanour completely shattered, and her hands smoking with cold ice urging to burst free. "For you see Queen Elsa" he whispered softly, his voice a ghostly breath on a windless night, "I am the King of Nightmares".

Elsa stared at him, drinking in the long billowing black cloak he wore that seemed to be woven of the same ethereal substance that had first looked like oil to her. On closer inspection, she could see that it was more like liquid smoke, (if there was such a thing), and she found herself wondering what it felt like. Pitch Black's gold-silver eyes watched her carefully as she drank him in, his slicked back spikey black hair and long fingers, perfect for playing piano, although she imagined he wouldn't bother using them for that. Most probably he uses them to terrify children in the night with tall shadow puppets on the wall, Elsa thought moodily.

This made her feel annoyed with him again, and she shook her hands in another attempt to rid herself of some frustration. A flurry of snowflakes fell from her fingers and she blushed, "Sorry I'm still working on controlling my powers". Panic rose in her chest at her little magical mistake, but she easily forced a smile on her face with practised charm.

"Don't apologise to me. You and I, we are the same after all…" Pitch glided away from her to stand at the open window where she had stood earlier. "Get away from there, the people will see you and think…" Pitch smirked,

"And think what, your highness?" Elsa fumed, he knew exactly what they would think; anyone with half a brain knew that any respectable woman in Arendelle, never invited a man into her room without an escort.

"Relax" Pitch said, his voice silky as velvet again, "They can't see me". Elsa gave him a confused look, and he moved away from the window to come closer to her again. His inky black aura swirled about him as he walked towards her, and Elsa felt as though she might be sucked up into it, like it was a black hole.

"Why can't they see you?" Elsa asked breathlessly, her heart in her throat. "Did I just…imagine you?"

"No!" he said, hurt and fear flashing in his eyes. Elsa relaxed,

"Good" she replied, not knowing whether she believed that but not wanting to dwell on the question of her sanity. "You see they don't believe in me" Pitch said in a casual fashion, as he smoothed back his hair with a slightly shaking hand that gave away his true feelings on the matter. "So?" Elsa asked ignorantly. Pitch threw her a dirty look, "They cannot see what they don't believe in". Elsa stared at him thinking, that made sense, it was like the old saying, 'Seeing is believing' except the other way around.

"I suppose that's why they don't see you either" he added cruelly, making Elsa raise her eyebrows in indignation, "They do see me, I'm their Queen!" Pitch looked down at his slender fingers, "Of course you are…but do they really know who you are?"

"Clearly because I'm their queen, the Queen of Arendelle!" Elsa felt her cheeks heating up as her temper burned within. There was something about Pitch that made her forget about the advice her father had given her as a child: conceal, don't feel. Pitch knew how to push her buttons so all her emotions fought to get out.

"What do they really think about you?" Pitch whispered, his gold-silver eyes crinkled in mock concern with an annoying smirk that made it altogether insincere. Elsa felt like snow balling the smirk off his face. "Do they really believe in you Elsa?"

"Yes" Elsa answered defiantly which made it Pitch's turn to raise his eyebrows,

"Do you really think they could after all your little 'accidents'?" Elsa's pulse quickened and small beads of sweat poured down her temples to form glistening ice drops on her cheeks. Sweating had never been so beautiful.

"That's in the past, they have put that behind them now…" Elsa felt her resolve weakening as Pitch tore down the walls she had put up to block out this voice, his voice, in her head.

"But have you?"

The question hung in the air between them. Elsa's face had a tortured expression on it that wilted her beautiful features like a suffocated rose. She turned away from him, heart broken and Pitch realised that he had taken it too far. He was too good at what he did, making people fear and hurt, that he sometimes forgot that he was even doing it. This was not why he had come to speak with the Snow Queen.

"Sorry" he said hoarsely. It was clear that he was not used to saying the word as it did not slide from his tongue like the rest of his silky speech. Elsa just glared at him. He looked back at her in a nonchalant manner and she broke his gaze with an aggravated sigh, "I'm sorry too, sorry for being indifferent about people not believing in you. I do know how that feels. I…"

Elsa took a deep breath, and ignored the echoes of: _don't feel_, in her head, "Trust me I know what it's like". Pitch nodded, he seemed to have deflated since his apology and appeared more human now. More vulnerable…

Their eyes met in a brief embrace of understanding just for a moment.

Suddenly a knock resounded at the door, bringing them both back to their senses. Pitch broke Elsa's gaze, embarrassed by his moment of weakness, and she held her hands up to her mouth in panic wondering how she was going to explain the presence of Pitch Black in her room. Meanwhile Pitch shook his head slowly, looking as though he had awakened from a day dream for the first time and seemed horrified with himself.

"Farewell until next time Queen Elsa" Pitch whispered silkily, and he melted into the shadows like a vapour. Elsa watched him go in amazement, his outline still lingering in the dark, her heart beating loudly in her chest as the voice of Kristoff met her ears, "Elsa, are you in there? Want to come skiing with us this afternoon?

Elsa watched the last glints of those gold-silver eyes fade into darkness, before she turned to open the door with a painfully practised smile, "Sure Kristoff that sounds great".


	2. Chapter 2: The Curse We Share

Chapter 2: The Curse We Share

On the outskirts of town there was a small hill with a bunny slope just small enough that Anna wouldn't face plant every time she went down it. Kristoff and Elsa trudged through the snow towards her, with Sven trailing along behind them, sniffing around for some grass to eat under the powdery snow. "Why'd you leave her out here alone?" Elsa asked stiffly, she had a feeling that Anna would be even more treacherous on the slopes when left to her own devices. "She said she wanted some practice" Kristoff said with a shrug. Elsa folded her arms in disagreement, "I think she could have broken her neck".

Kristoff gave her a sideways look, lowering his voice (though only Sven could hear them at the bottom of the hill), "Is something wrong? Because if I caught you at the wrong time, I'm sorry. I didn't really think coming to your room was a good idea, but I thought, hey, why not? We are family now". He was rambling and Elsa felt guilty. Kristoff hadn't meant to put Anna in danger, she was just overprotective because of…well she didn't like to think about the reasons.

Anna was waving at them erratically, looking more than ever like she was going to fall down the hill at any second. "It's okay" Elsa said, "Forget it". She put on a winning smile but Kristoff didn't look convinced, "Honestly I'm fine" she reassured him, and he slowly nodded,

"Well okay then" he said.

As they reached the top of the hill, Anna flung herself at Elsa. Elsa steadied herself by cementing both their feet in ice. Anna looked down at their feet, feeling sheepish, "Am I really that bad?" She asked, her green eyes wide like a child's or a puppy dog's eyes.

"Yes" Elsa replied, as she slowly melted the ice away with her love for her sister, "But practice makes perfect". Anna nodded enthusiastically,

"Right!" She punched the air with her fist, "Will you show me the trick you can do? You know skiing without skis?"

"It's just gliding down the mountain" Elsa said modestly,

"Do it, do it, do it!" Anna squealed and Kristoff shook his head with a fond smile at his young wife, "You're going to have to Elsa, how you can say no to a face like that?"

That was how the afternoon was spent outside, Elsa showing them her snow tricks and then Kristoff helping Anna ski down the mountain with tips of his own. By the time the sun began to set, Elsa was thoroughly exhausted and was grateful to Kristoff for letting Anna and her ride Sven back home as he walked alongside them. Elsa wished the trip would take longer, but soon found herself back at her lonely palace, waving goodbye to her sister and brother-in-law, a false grin plastered on her face.

They would never know how she dreaded the hours she spent alone.

_But what if you're not alone?_ _What if he comes back?_ A tiny voice said in her head- the voice of hope…or madness she mused.

Elsa laughed at the thought and a guard gave her an alarmed look as she stepped through the entrance to her home. She supposed she hardly ever laughed, so it came as a shock to him. "Your highness" he said with a bow. Elsa nodded to him,

"Good evening". It was embarrassing but she couldn't remember his name, and she didn't spend enough time with him to find a way to learn it. In fact, she only knew the names of the staff that attended directly to her, like her lady's maid Sophia and the butler Joseph.

_But you remember his name, don't you?_ Elsa ignored the voice and slowly dragged her feet up the stairs to her bedroom, letting her light blue cape made of snowflakes woven together, trail behind her at a snail's pace. Yes, she thought, but Pitch seemed too surreal to be real. _But he is real, he's just like you…._The persistent and annoying voice of her conscience pestered her and she tried to block it out. "He's nothing like me" she hissed in denial, as she opened the door to her room, and glanced along the hallway to make sure nobody could hear her.

As she snapped the door behind her, a black figure loomed behind it in the shadows, "Has anyone ever told you that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness?" Elsa stifled a scream, holding her hand over her mouth to dull the high pitched sound that had escaped her lips for a brief second.

She immediately realised that she needn't have bothered to cover it up; nobody could hear her anyway. All the servants were downstairs, far away from her. It was just Pitch here, with his strangely luminous eyes that shone in the darkness.

"Pitch Black, the Nightmare King" she whispered, "You're like me…" His gold-silver eyes burned intensely like fire but he said nothing and Elsa blushed a deep crimson colour, "I'm sorry, I don't know what I'm saying, too much mountain air. You see Anna and Kristoff took me skiing and…"

Elsa rambled on and Pitch watched her in amusement, it was as if she couldn't keep her words contained, they just spilled out of her mouth like a dam in overflow. "This is very unlike you" Pitch said softly, swooping down to stand in the centre of the room. Elsa bit her lip, he was right, she was acting flustered like…like… "Anna" Pitch finished for her. Elsa stared at him, "You can read minds?" She didn't even bother feeling surprised about that possibility, so far today he had leaked out from under her bed, hung off her ceiling like a bat and appeared out of nowhere in her room, twice. "No, actually" Pitch admitted, circling her with liquid black smoke swirling in his wake, "But I think I know a little bit about you…." Elsa shivered at his words and turned away, running her pale slender fingers through her hair and hanging her cape on the hook on the door to recover from his assumption. Pitch noticed how her skin as pale as starlight, shone white like snow against the pale blue sparkles on her figure hugging dress, but said nothing of it.

She stopped for a moment with her back to him, "But you don't really know me, I just met you…" Pitch touched her shoulder and she flinched away from him, giving him a reproachful look. The gold-silver eyes told no secrets and bored into her as if they were soulless, then Pitch blinked and the intensity faded to be replaced by a lazy expression that Elsa suspected was well practised. "You agree we are the same though" Pitch said in his silky voice, and Elsa could not disagree. She had said it herself. Even though her people now accepted her as their Queen, was she really believed in? It didn't feel like it…

Elsa sat down on the bed and undid her loose braid, so that her white blond hair cascaded down her back in waves. Pitch looked out the window awkwardly and quite oddly, scowled at the moon. Elsa gave him a quizzical look, "What's wrong?" She realised what she should have been asking was: what are you doing in my room again and how do you do it? But she wanted company. His company. For he had been the first to truly reach out to her since summer ended.

"The Man in the Moon has cursed us" he revealed to her, not taking his eyes off the orb of light in the sky. Elsa tried to take him seriously, "You mean the moon has".

"No" Pitch turned around, his cloak of liquid smoke billowing in the cool night breeze, "The Man in the Moon exists, like you and I, and he made us like this". Elsa felt adrenaline flood her veins and felt foolish for believing him, but this could be the answer to why she was the way she was- the Snow Queen that some whispered of as a monster…

"He cursed us with powers" Elsa stated, coming to her own conclusion. Pitch shrugged,

"If you want to see it that way, I see the powers as gifts and our roles as the curse"

"What do you mean?" Elsa asked shrewdly, and Pitch stepped closer to her, leaning in as if to tell her a great secret, "He made us the ones who aren't believed in. The ones to be alone. We have power so great that others fear us. That is our curse, it's the curse we share".

"I don't want to be alone anymore!" Elsa cried out in anger, anger at whoever this Man in the Moon was. This creator that Pitch spoke of, he had made her childhood a tragedy. "Are there others?" Elsa asked, "Others like us?" Pitch studied her carefully, weighing up what he was deciding to divulge, "Yes and no" he finally said. Elsa eyed him suspiciously, she still wasn't sure if she could trust him after his outburst earlier. "What do you mean?" She asked slowly.

Pitch made a circular motion with one hand and a black mirror appeared, apparently made of the same smoky substance that everything he created was born of: darkness. "Look in the mirror" Pitch said slowly, and Elsa stepped closer to him upon his command. She could feel his dark presence pressing upon her as she stepped within his aura, and had to keep herself from looking down at the black smoke snaking around her feet, lest she look afraid. Pitch held the mirror out to her, a smile curling his lips as she took it in her hands. On touching the black substance, she felt a flood of horrible memories rush through her head. She glared at him and handed the mirror back roughly.

"If you are just here to torture me, you can leave now" she said icily, the memory of Anna frozen solid on the fjord still vivid in her mind. Pitch waved the mirror away in a wisp of smoke, "I wanted you to look into the mirror, I forgot that if you touched it…"

"I think you should just…leave" Elsa said with finality, her lips pursed and hands shaking with the storm of emotion that the dark memories had stirred within her. Pitch turned away from her, bewildered by her reaction, "The memories weren't my fault, it's the nightmares, they infect everything I create". Elsa look at him accusingly,

"They're still your nightmares" she argued, hardly knowing what he meant by 'nightmares', but knowing it was his fault that she was reliving all the painful memories she had tried so hard to repress…

Pitch stepped away from her and into the shadows cast by the long curtains framing the moonlight. "I'll take my leave then your highness" he said, with a sweeping bow, and then he disappeared into the shadows, but not before Elsa glimpsed his gold-silver eyes glowing ominously with suppressed rage.

Elsa coolly watched his fiery eyes dissolve in the darkness. Then she flopped down on the bed and remembered Pitch's words tonight… _He made us the ones who aren't believed in. The ones to be alone. We have power so great that others fear us. That is our curse, it's the curse we share. _Suddenly Elsa wished she'd never sent Pitch away and glared at the moon that illuminated her solitude once more.


	3. Chapter 3: Pretty Little Nightmare

Chapter 3: Pretty Little Nightmare

Elsa had trouble getting to sleep that night, every time she closed her eyes the fiery gold-silver eyes of Pitch Black burned bright. She couldn't help but feel that she had misjudged him somehow, but it was too late for that. Elsa had told him to leave and left he had. She wondered if he would return again…

Not that I care if he doesn't, she thought indignantly, it's not like his visits today were exactly pleasant. Every time I see him he makes me mad! She buried her head into her pillow, until it was too hard to breathe and then resurfaced. So if she hated him so much, why couldn't she get him out of her head?

Elsa flopped onto her back and blew a loose strand of hair off her face. At least now those old memories aren't all I can see, she thought gratefully, and felt a pang of guilt strike her in the stomach. Hadn't Pitch said that he had wanted her to look into the mirror? She hadn't got that far. Maybe if she had, things would be different now…

"Is that why you left me?" Elsa whispered to the darkness. She lay in bed, her curtains drawn and the night silent all around. She gazed up at the blackness above her and then sighed softly, getting up and pulling the silk bed sheets over her. She wondered what Anna was up to now…probably cuddled up with Kristoff, warm and safe and loved. Elsa lay back down on the bed, her body exhausted from the day on the hill, but her mind still obsessing over her new visitor.

"Will you come see me again?" She whispered to the darkness once again. Again there was no answer. "I see" Elsa said, her voice hardening as she closed her eyes in defeat. The gold-silver eyes loomed in her mind's eye again and she tore her eyes open in frustration, thinking she'd never get to sleep at this rate.

But when she opened her eyes, the gold-silver eyes did not disappear and she thought to herself, maybe I've finally fallen asleep…Though why I'm dreaming of him I have no idea…

But then the eyes winked at her in a way that was all too real. Elsa jumped a little in her bed, "Pitch" she hissed, and the eyes crinkled in what Elsa could only hope was a smile.

"Your highness…" he said in a low rumbling voice, akin to the sounds of sleep. Elsa felt a grin spill onto her face and her cheek muscles hurt, for she wasn't used to smiling so much in one day.

Elsa fumbled for a candle to light in the darkness but at the click of what she could only imagine were Pitch's fingers, a blue black flame appeared above her, then two more joined it so that the room was illuminated by an eerie blue glow. Then she could see Pitch properly, lying across the air in a casual position above her, his body on the side and hands leaning on the liquid smoke beneath him like a black glossy cloud. "You came back" she said softly, trying not to sound too pleased by this fact.

"It sounded like you wanted me to" he said with a shrug of indifference. Elsa felt that annoyance that Pitch brought out in her rise up again, but she swallowed it and kept her cool. "I didn't want you to misunderstand me" she breathed, gazing up at him boldly. Pitch met her eyes with the intensity of burning coals on a cold winter's night and Elsa could not look away. "I don't want _you_ to misunderstand me" he echoed her, his eyes solemn as he watched her carefully for any misgivings.

"I hurt Anna" Elsa admitted, looking down at her silver night dress made of tiny snowflakes.

"I know" Pitch said softly, "I have seen your fears". Elsa felt her face grow hot in embarrassment, "That's rather intrusive, you know". Pitch smirked,

"It is" he agreed, "But it can be fun too". Elsa raised an eyebrow at him, unimpressed,

"You must really be sadistic if you enjoy peering into other people's minds and picking out their fears". Pitch opened his mouth to argue back, clearly offended but then bit his lip and swooped down onto the edge of the bed so Elsa started in surprise, "Sometimes it's kind of fun".

"So you enjoy watching people suffer?" Elsa asked hotly, which was a measure of how unbalanced her emotions had become since his arrival. "I never said I enjoyed it" Pitch corrected her, drawing jagged lines with liquid smoke in the air to amuse himself, "But that is my gift and I intend to use it, otherwise I am nothing".

"Nothing…" Elsa repeated, more to herself than to Pitch. She wondered, would she be the same without her powers? No, she told herself, you'd be different but you'd still be the Queen of Arendelle, and that is definitely something to be proud of. But for Pitch, it must be different…

"Surely you must have something else to live for apart from making people fear you" Elsa said quietly, but Pitch shook his head with feigned disinterest, "Not really".

"Why not?" She demanded. How could he so easily accept this dark fate? Pitch wiped away the black smoky lines so they dissipated into thin air, "Well for a start, I'm not really a people person".

"I'm a person" Elsa contradicted him.

"That's different" he said simply and Elsa gazed at him curiously,

"Why?" Pitch blackened in what Elsa could only imagine was a blush,

"You're like me" he said finally. Elsa couldn't argue with that.

Suddenly, Pitch stood up on his feet and brushed his cloak with his long fingers, "Enough talk, I have a present for you". It wasn't an option, he had ended the conversation. Elsa felt annoyance twinge within her and she reasoned with herself. Although he did lack a certain charm, Pitch was magnetic in his own way. "It's not like the mirror is it?" She blurted out the words before she could stop herself. Looks like I need some extra charm myself, Elsa thought sheepishly.

Pitch's eyes flashed a warning involuntarily, he was not used to being questioned like this. "It is" Pitch began,

"Then I don't want it" Elsa said quickly, "Sorry" she added, realising how rude she must sound. "You don't need to be afraid" Pitch said with a forced calm tone in his voice, he was clearly not used to keeping his temper restrained either. Elsa laughed, "Are you joking?"

"I never joke" Pitch said seriously, and Elsa believed him.

Elsa gave him a wary look, trying to decide whether or not she should trust him. "Think of it as a pet not a present if that makes you feel better" Pitch added moodily, and Elsa could see that he was not pleased by her ungratefulness.

Elsa nodded, "Okay, thank you" _I think_, she added silently, hoping that whatever pet Pitch had brought her would not bring horrible memories upon her. Pitch gave her a small smile in reply and moved his hands in swirling motions, so the black liquid smoke flowed from his fingertips like paint. As he moved his hands, Elsa saw a figure slowly emerging from the black painting. First it's tail, then its flank, a long mane and slender legs, and finally gold-silver eyes just like Pitch's, set into the devastatingly lovely face of the most terrifying pony Elsa had ever seen. Pitch stroked the pony's mane with his long fingers and his hand passed through it, "What a pretty little…nightmare" he crooned softly, and Elsa gaped at him.

"You made me a nightmare for a pet" she said accusingly, "I can't believe I thought it was a miniature pony" she added with a disbelieving laugh at her foolishness.

"It is a pony" Pitch said, pointing at it as it started to gallop around the room as if to prove that point. "But it's made of nightmares!" Elsa exclaimed in exasperation.

"That's what I do" Pitch said with a shrug, "If you don't like it I can take it back". He started to pull the pony towards him with a beckoning motion of his hand, and the little nightmare pony (only about the size of the average cat), silently trotted up to him. Elsa moved a step closer to it and it turned its gold-silver eyes towards her threateningly. "She's your master" Pitch commanded, "You must obey her". The nightmare pony turned to Pitch and when they locked eyes, he knew it had understood. Then the pony trotted up to Elsa and stood by her side like a guardian.

"Can I touch it without…?" She didn't need to finish the question, for she knew Pitch would understand her fears. He nodded, "You can't have nightmares when you're awake, and when you're asleep this nightmare will guard you, not harm you".

"Are you sure about that?" Elsa asked doubtfully, eying off the hollow look in the pony's eyes. "I am certain of it, for he is a part of me" Pitch answered honestly and Elsa blushed crimson, "Okay then, well thank you, he's very…pretty". The word didn't seem appropriate but the nightmare pony wasn't terrifying and had a gothic charm to it. Pitch grinned, his sharp teeth glinting in the blue glow, "He's yours now. Take good care of him".

"I will" Elsa said, as she hesitantly reached out to the nightmare with a shaking hand.

"Don't be afraid" Pitch said.

"But I believe in you" Elsa replied, "So I know what he's capable of". Pitch thought about this for a moment, and then laughed, it was an eerie sound that echoed off the walls and pressed in around her, "I'm glad but I won't be gaining from your fear tonight".

Elsa gave him a puzzled look but then the pony butted its head against her hand, and she felt the liquid black smoke touch her fingers, soft like oil but finer than smoke. "I have business to take care of before morning" Pitch said abruptly, as though he had only just realised what time it was. "I'll see you tomorrow" Elsa said hopefully. Pitch smiled,

"Until then my Queen" he said huskily as he faded into the darkness.


	4. Chapter 4: Invisible on Ice

Chapter 4: Invisible on Ice

"Welcome to the twilight ice-skating event for this winter!" Elsa announced the next day, at the ice-rink she had created earlier that afternoon. Blue circles, (not of her own hand), painted the skin around her eyes, revealing that she hadn't had much sleep last night. It was hard to sleep with a nightmare pony standing guard next to your bed, and Elsa kept wondering what business Pitch had needed to rush off to in such a hurry.

Somewhere that sounded far away to Elsa, the crowd cheered and slowly filled the skating rink in the middle of the town square. "This is great, thanks Elsa!" Anna called out to her, and Elsa turned to her sister in surprise, "You made it, I wasn't sure if you were coming after last time". Elsa didn't want to say it but Anna couldn't skate to save her life. "I'm sure I'll get it right this time!" Anna said sheepishly.

"Where are Kristoff and Olaf?" Elsa asked casually, still having not quite forgiven Kristoff for leaving her sister at the hill to ski alone. "They're at home sick. Kristoff caught a cold from skiing yesterday and somehow Olaf got it too". Elsa gave her a dubious look,

"The man works with ice, every day, for the royal palace, I'm sure he didn't get a cold from a little bit of skiing". Anna shrugged,

"That's what he said" she said trustingly, and Elsa envied her that. Anna had the ability to go with the flow at the best and worst of times. When I ran away in the frozen summer, she even followed me to the North mountain. But that was a little too trusting, so perhaps it was better that Elsa be the wary one.

"You look tired" Anna pointed out, trying to skate around Elsa in a small circle, as she stood in the middle of the ice rink, perfectly balanced on her homemade ice skates (made of real ice). Elsa touched the blue circles under her eyes self-consciously, "Yes I had a late night".

"What were you doing?" Anna asked curiously, as she waved her arms about to keep her balance. Elsa put out an arm to steady her and gave Anna an exasperated look, "Be careful".

"Right, right" Anna agreed, and Elsa shook her head back to gaze at the beauty of the sunset for some relief from Anna's skating trials.

When she looked back down, Pitch was standing right beside her, and she almost fell over in fright. "Keep steady yourself there" Anna giggled and snorted at once.

"Of course" Elsa said, quickly looking from Anna to Pitch and realising the truth: Anna could not see him. Elsa looked all around her but nobody seemed to have noticed the appearance of the King of Nightmares in the middle of the ice-rink.

Pitch gave her a small wave and Elsa tried not to smile, if she started acting like someone was there, the people, her people, would think that she was even weirder than they already did.

"Oh I'm sorry Elsa!" Anna cried out as she grasped her sister's arm for support and walked right through where Pitch stood. Elsa held a hand up to her mouth to cover the horrified look on her face. She glanced at where Pitch stood concealed and Elsa had the sneaking suspicion that he was enjoying her panic and jealousy…wait what? Elsa pushed those feelings away from Pitch's prying eyes and raised an eyebrow at him, unimpressed. Anna, (oblivious to Pitch's presence), gave her a hurt look in reply.

"I am trying Elsa!" she exclaimed, an annoyed tone clear in her voice. Her green eyes were downcast and Elsa waved her hands to get those sad thoughts out of Anna's head, "I wasn't making fun of you! I was raising my eyebrow at…at somebody else".

It was Anna's turn to raise an eyebrow now, a sly smile spread across her face too, in a much more teasing fashion than Elsa's had been. "Oh really? And who might that be at?" Elsa blushed a deep crimson and Pitch moved out from Anna, to stand on Elsa's other side with a look of devious pleasure cast upon his face. "Well" Elsa said, very aware of Pitch standing so close to her, so close she could almost feel the silky black liquid smoke that was surrounding him in a haze since he moved through Anna. "You don't really know him" Elsa finished lamely, and Pitch rolled his eyes at her as if he had wished for a much more interesting answer. "Well, can I meet him?" Anna asked excitedly, looking everywhere, including straight through Pitch. Pitch laughed softly and Elsa jumped up in alarm, "Uh no" she said, throwing a hand to her head and forcing a laugh, "No, no, no you see…it's kind of complicated".

Anna was peering suspiciously at the passers by now and Elsa had to hide her face in embarrassment at the scene they were causing. "Complicated how?" Anna asked absentmindedly as she eyed off all the single men in the arena with scrutinising eyes. "You just can't see him right now" Elsa admitted, and Anna laughed (and snorted),

"You got that right, none of these guys are your type or what I imagine your type is because you've never really had a boyfriend, have you? Not that it matters, I'm sure loads of guys would want to date you, I mean you're so beautiful! Beautifuller than me- more beautiful I mean, yeah…" Anna trailed off awkwardly and then gave her sister a genuine smile, "I hope I can meet him one day". Then Anna's face lit up like a child's on Christmas morning, "Kristoff!" she called, as she waved at her husband at the edge of the skating rink.

"Sorry I'm late, Olaf stayed home sick but I felt bad to leave you so I came along".

Elsa blushed, she wondered if this had anything to do with the reprimand she had given Kristoff yesterday at the hill. "Hi Kristoff" Elsa said with a sheepish smile and Kristoff grinned at her, "It's good to see you again so soon, I feel like the three of us haven't spent enough time together lately".

_You can say that again_, Elsa thought darkly, but she just smiled, "You're newlyweds- that's normal. Don't worry, enjoy the ice!" Kristoff grinned at her,

"We will", he took Anna by the hand, "Shall we then?" He asked bravely and she nodded enthusiastically, giving him an unsteady hug and kiss. Then she turned to Elsa with a roguish wink, "Have fun with lover boy!" Elsa blushed deeply,

"I don't have a lover boy" she stammered in complete embarrassment. Kristoff gave Elsa a quizzical look, but Elsa just waved at him dismissively, "Go enjoy" she managed to say, before skating to the edge of the rink to take a seat.

Pitch followed her, not on skates, but gliding beside her like a loyal shadow.

"You didn't introduce me" he said in mock disappointment, as Elsa sat down in a magnificent ice thrown at the edge of the rink, (of her own creation of course). Elsa inconspicuously checked to see if anyone was looking and then replied with her lips barely moving at all, "How could I? When nobody but me can see you? They'd think I'm crazy".

The same guard that had watched Elsa laughing to herself last night, turned his gaze upon her now, concern clear in his eyes. "Walk with me" Pitch murmured, offering his arm to Elsa and she linked her arm through his, hoping it didn't look too odd. "Where are we going?" She hissed, as Pitch lead her through the crowds of people, who all turned to smile at her as she followed him to a small cluster of pine trees that hid her from view.

"Now we can talk properly" Pitch said softly, letting go of her arm and holding his hands behind his back in a reserved manner. Elsa looked over her shoulder to check if anybody was watching, but the pine leaves obscured her view so she knew it would obscure that of any onlookers too. Pitch let a sad smile fall upon his lips, "You didn't introduce me…" His disappointment was real this time. "I couldn't".

"I know".

There was a short uncomfortable silence.

"Did you want to?" Pitch asked, his silky voice failing to mask the uncertainty that came with this question. Elsa did not meet his intense gold-silver gaze, "Yes" she admitted softly, not knowing where to look or what she was getting herself into. "Do you wish they could see me?" Pitch whispered urgently, and Elsa looked up at him, her sparkling blue eyes strong and honest, "Yes I wish they could".

To Elsa's immense surprise, Pitch took her by the hands and she felt a surge of his dark power flow through her upon his touch. "Then help them to see me" he said, his voice as soft as velvet despite the power that emanated from him. Elsa held her breath and felt her heart race in her chest, "Help them to see me like I see you", Pitch breathed the words in a voice barely louder than a winter's breeze that whispered in your ear, and Elsa shivered.

"How do you see me?" Elsa asked with bated breath, her hands warm in his, despite the cold that surrounded them. Pitch paused and fixed her with a genuine gaze of warm molten gold strewn with silver stars, "I see you as a dream amidst a sea of nightmares" Pitch confessed to her.

Elsa nodded, too emotional to speak, but knew at that moment, that the King of Nightmares was no longer a stranger, they were two roses of the same stem, both born of a darkness that had festered within their lonely hearts for so long. In this darkness, she had never been without him and now that he was here in front of her, he had somehow captured her heart, and Elsa knew that there was no turning back…

She fell into the black silky trappings of his heart head first.


	5. Chapter 5 The Deal They Made

Chapter 5: The Deal They Made

When Elsa got home that night, her mind was reeling with a thousand questions, all of which concerned Pitch in one way or another. Her heart felt fluttery in her throat and she didn't know what to expect when she opened her bedroom door. She didn't know what she wanted to happen.

On one hand, she was scared of the prospect of dating the Nightmare King, not that he has asked you out, she told herself sternly, he hasn't even told you he likes you. Her heart sank, but then she felt a smile creep onto her face as her nightmare pony trotted towards her, his glowing gold-silver eyes fixed upon her. Well, there was certainly evidence that he _might_ like her…

She let the voice of hope win in her head- if all went well, the prospect of dating Pitch would end her loneliness forever. Well, she'd like to think that he wouldn't leave her, when he dated her, I mean if he even wanted her in the first place.

_I see you as a dream amidst a sea of nightmares_…Pitch's words echoed in her head and Elsa felt butterflies erupt in her stomach like a whirlwind of girlish excitement. She twirled around in her room and lay back on her bed dreamily; Elsa Black, now that was a name she could get used to.

She was about to close her sparkling blue eyes to play out this romantic fantasy when a reflection on the ceiling caught her attention. She looked across to where it came from and there was the black mirror Pitch had shown her earlier, sitting innocently on her bedside table.

First, Elsa felt angry, then confused, and then curiosity took the place of those previous emotions and urged her to look inside the mirror. That's what Pitch had wanted…she reminded herself, and she learned over the mirror carefully, marking sure that even the tips of her long hair did not fall onto it because she despised the dark memories the mirror had vividly returned to her before.

The mirror reflected the image of a wide eyed Elsa perfectly, but nothing else happened. Elsa watched herself pout in disappointment, "Well that was a letdown" she said to herself, and was about to look away when Pitch's gold-silver eyes stared back at her through the mirror. She looked behind her in a panic, but there was nobody there. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears, once again he had scared her out of her wits.

I guess I have to expect these things when I'm associating with the King of Nightmares. Is that what we are doing? I don't know, Elsa thought.

"Show me what Pitch wanted me to see" Elsa whispered softly to the mirror, and the eyes closed in consent to give way to swirling blackness. Then the blackness faded to white, "Snow" Elsa gushed in amazement. But it wasn't just snow, a teenage boy that looked about nineteen years of age, was standing in the snow.

He had silver hair that shone like starlight, just like Elsa's skin, and blue eyes that sparkled like diamonds, just like hers. Elsa's eyes widened in amazement, did she have a brother somewhere? The boy held a long curved staff like a shepherd, and Elsa noticed the frost that traced the intricate patterns on his deep blue hooded jumper. He must be freezing, Elsa thought. Then suddenly the boy raised his staff and ice shot out of it, creating a large mound of ice, perfect for sledding.

Elsa's mouth hung open in shock and a grin spilled onto her face, "He's just like me" Elsa whispered, and as she spoke the words she felt the shadows pressing in on her, until she could almost swear that Pitch's hands were on her shoulders, his touch as light as silk. She looked over her shoulders to check, but the dim light of her bedroom did not betray him, and the shadows feigned innocence as they skulked along the walls. But Elsa knew better than to believe that now.

When she looked back at the mirror, she started and almost dropped it. Pitch's face looked back at her with a dark expression, "He's just like you too, is he?" Elsa pressed her lips together, trying not to show she was too happy by his appearance, "You could announce yourself you know, you keep scaring me out of nowhere".

"I know" Pitch smirked.

Elsa could tell he was happy about it and it bugged her, but not as much as it should have. "Why did you want to show me the snow boy?" She asked him quizzically, ignoring the satisfied smile that had spread across his face since her admittance of fear.

Pitch's smile faded a little as he thought of how to answer Elsa without upsetting her, something that was not in his usual skill set of deceit, horror, betrayal, darkness and fear. "Well, I didn't give the mirror back to you for you to do that exactly" Pitch said softly, and the nightmare pony lifted its head curiously from the corner of the room where he had been sleeping.

Elsa called the nightmare over with a click of her fingers, and stroked its liquid silk mane gently. "I didn't want you to be afraid of it anymore" Pitch took a deep breath, and what he said next took every inch of effort and devotion he possessed, "I want to help you face your fears so they don't control you anymore". He paused, "Also I thought it might make you feel better to know that you aren't the only one with ice powers, Jack Frost has them too". Elsa nodded gratefully, yes knowing that did make her feel like less of an outcast. She marvelled at how the ice had shot straight out of thin air as he manipulated the stuff, just as sudden and magical as her own ice. "But isn't Jack Frost like Santa, just a story told to kids, I mean no-one really believes in them".

Pitch laughed and looked happier than Elsa had seen him yet, "I wish, but no, people do believe and that's the problem". Elsa raised her eyebrows at him as if to say, _sure they do, I don't believe you…_ But Pitch was onto her within a second. His face faded from the mirror to give way to the boy on the snowy hill again, but this time a massive bunny with a boomerang jumped out of a giant hole beside him, a ruffled looking fairy flew out from behind him and Santa tumbled out after them, bowling them all over.

"The Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy _and_ Santa?" Elsa asked weakly, this seemed too good to be true. Could all the figures of fairy tales told to children be real? Pitch nodded, "Yes they are real too, we all are. We exist for those who believe in us, but the Man in the Moon chose them to be the special ones".

"Who?" Elsa asked dumbly, a little baffled by all the new revelations. "The ones you see in the mirror, plus Sandy the Sand Man of course. Santa is actually named North and he is as big as the tales tell, Jack Frost- the winter spirit, Bunnymund who is clearly the oversized Easter Bunny and oddly enough Australian, which many people don't realise, and last of all Toothiana the Tooth Fairy herself". Pitch sneered at Jack, Bunnymund and Toothiana, then glared at North, "They think they are superior to us because they were chosen to be the Guardians".

"The Guardians?" Elsa asked immediately, thinking of her nightmare pony that guarded her at night, his hollow gold-silver eyes glowing brightly like beacons in the darkness. Pitch nodded, and then dived head first through the mirror towards her. Elsa screamed, but she needn't have, for Pitch flew gracefully into the air like a wraith, and slowly settled on the ground before her.

Elsa fumed, "Will you ever make a normal entrance?" Her heart was racing again, the adrenaline flowing through her veins. Pitch gave her a sly smile, "You enjoy this too much, don't you?" Elsa asked hopelessly. Pitch grinned, his sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight, "I like feeling your fear".

Elsa reddened, her cheeks hot with embarrassment, "Well that's just creepy" she said unconvincingly, squirming on her spot on the bed. Pitch reached out and took her face under the chin, tilting it up to look her in the eyes, "Is it Elsa?"

Elsa's skin tingled where he held it. It was the first time he had touched her so sensually and his skin was as soft as velvet yet as slippery as silk. It made her feel hot and cold at the same time, she looked into his liquid gold-silver eyes framed by long dark lashes and forgot everything else. A small smile crossed Pitch's face and for a second his eyes looked warm like glowing embers and Elsa was captivated by them, fixed upon her like she was the only one who mattered in the world.

Then he let go and Elsa felt him slip away, the warmth faded from his eyes to be replaced by the usual intense expression.

"The Guardians were chosen by him", he indicated the moon with a jerk of his thumb, "To protect children". Pitch said the words so hatefully that it was clear that there was nothing or no-one that he despised more than the Guardians and their work. Elsa shook herself softly, huh Guardians? All she could remember was Pitch's touch.

Pitch looked at Elsa for a reply, "What do they protect in children? She asked, to buy herself some time to pull herself together. No-one had ever held her face like that, barely anyone even came close enough to touch her. "Well" Pitch said, gliding across the room on a conveyer belt of liquid smoke, "North protects wonder, Bunnymund- hope, Toothiana protects memories and Sandy- I imagine it's dreams" Pitch finished carelessly, "It doesn't really matter anyway, they're the bane of my existence".

"That's rather dramatic of you" Elsa said playfully, finally switched on to the current conversation. Pitch beckoned the nightmare pony to come to him, and he galloped towards him obediently. Pitch stroked the dark creature's hair with more concentration than was necessary. "They destroyed my nightmares" he said in a voice barely audible, but so malevolent that the bravest creature would cower in fear.

Goosebumps crept along Elsa's skin and she tried to shake them off. "What happened?" She asked carefully, a little alarmed by the dangerous tone of Pitch's voice. Pitch kept his eyes averted from hers as he continued to run his fingers through the long black mane of her pet, "A few months ago I was strong". He glanced up at Elsa as she was about to speak, and the fierce glow in his eyes silenced her. Something told her that the fierceness was not directed at her.

"I was much stronger than I am now. I created an army of nightmares to help me tip the balance".

"What balance?" Elsa interrupted. Pitch looked at her patiently, as a teacher might with an inquisitive student. "The balance between the Guardians and I, when they are stronger I am invisible, but when I am stronger", his face transformed into what could only be described as an evil smile, "Well they get a taste of what it's like to not exist".

Elsa was silent, she wasn't sure if this was fair to the Guardians but she didn't know them, so who was she to judge? "They destroyed my army with the help of their children" Pitch continued, retelling the story with bitterness etched across his face, "And took away what I had worked for, for so long".

"So the kids saw you? They believed?" She asked, a little confused by the incomplete story. "Yes, they believed" Pitch said darkly, "They believed and they saw me and feared me and then I was gone, like I'd never even existed…again".

"Of course they'd remember that you existed" Elsa argued, she didn't like to hear Pitch sound so angry, to hear his spirits so downcast. "I don't think so…" Pitch said slowly, taking Elsa by the hand, sending tingles running up her arm, "Children forget so easily, I imagine they would forget and think of me as just a bad dream". He let Elsa's hand go with a laugh, "They'd think of me as a nightmare and we all know when we wake up, if we give that nightmare no more thought, it will eventually fade, like me…"

Elsa stopped him by his arm as he turned to walk away from her, "I won't forget you" she said softly, her fingers burning on his skin, excitement flooding through her veins at the bold move she had made. Pitch froze and she took her hand away quickly, "Sorry" she said, looking down at her gloved hands, as always they were as cold as ice.

"Never apologise to me for touching me" Pitch told her, surprise splashed across his face and slowly washing the fierceness away, "You don't have to keep your distance anymore". Elsa laughed nervously, "Yeah, my sister said that too and then I accidentally shot her in the heart".

The words sounded horrible and Elsa cringed to hear them spoken out loud, her greatest shame laid out for her saviour, lover, friend? For Pitch Black to see. "Nobody can love me because of that" Elsa confessed quietly, "I know I'm a monster…"

Pitch looked at her for a long time before he spoke again, "I haven't loved anybody for longer than I care to remember, but I know that it would be too easy to love you". Elsa's heart sank and Pitch looked away awkwardly, he hadn't meant to upset her, he just wasn't used to…being nice, if that's what he was doing.

"Let's make a deal" he said abruptly, and Elsa was glad for the change in conversation; anything to lighten the mood would do. "You're afraid of your powers and I want to be seen again" Pitch declared, to him her fears were as plain as day and he knew they cast shadows darker than night across her heart. Elsa nodded, her arms wrapped around herself defensively in order to hold herself together after her dark confession. "I can help you control your powers by teaching you how to channel your fear. And you…" He tapped the pony on the flank so it galloped away from them, leaving them alone, "If you wish to help me" he said softly, his gaunt face chiselled with shadows in a strangely sexy way, "You can help me be seen again".

Elsa gazed at him helplessly, there was only one answer she could give, for even if he could not love, Pitch Black had stolen her heart, even if he didn't realise it yet. "Of course I'll help you Pitch" she said, and he grasped her hand, his face alive with excitement,

"Then my Queen we have a deal".

Elsa nodded, her eyes upon her pale white hand enclosed between Pitch's long and blackened fingers; they were such a contrast of light and dark. But Elsa knew that they were really more than that. Pitch was the dusk that descended upon the day and Elsa was the dawn that greeted the morning. They were both stuck between the realms of good and evil, and had finally found each other there.


	6. Chapter 6: The King of Nightmares

Chapter 6: The King of Nightmares

The sun rose slowly the next morning and the day dragged on as Elsa waited for her nightly visit from Pitch. It wasn't official or anything, but it felt like a routine had formed that she could rely upon. Kristoff and Anna had called by during the day and pestered her with questions about her mystery man. Anna had been particularly persistent and Elsa had found it troublesome to keep Pitch a secret.

But was he meant to be a secret? She hadn't figured out how she was meant to help him be seen yet. How could people believe in him if they didn't know he existed? Was she embarrassed of him? No, the thought of that was repulsive to her. Elsa finally decided that it must be her fear of being further ostracised from normality that kept her quiet.

But still, her silence made her feel uneasy, as if she was doing Pitch an injustice by staying silent.

When Elsa finished dinner that evening at the long empty table, by herself, she couldn't wait to bid the servants goodnight, rush to her room and be frightened by Pitch's presence, (the fact that she had started to crave this fear was a picture of her desire for his company).

However, as the minutes turned to hours and Pitch didn't come, Elsa found herself giving up on the idea and went to sleep. She tossed and turned in her sleep, dreaming of Pitch's laugh echoing all around her but she couldn't see him, she couldn't reach him! Cold sweat beaded at her forehead and Elsa reached out into the darkness, "Don't leave me!" She cried out in anguish, "Don't leave me alone!" A hand started shaking her shoulder and she started, opening her eyes in a panic and almost screaming when she saw the eyes of the nightmare pony fading away into nothingness before her. The creature vanished into thin air and long fingers sliced through the air above her head to take away the remaining wisps of liquid smoke the nightmare left behind.

With the nightmare gone, Elsa was suddenly very aware of Pitch standing above her, his breathing heavy and hands coming to rest at her shoulders. She leant her head to the side to see his face and it was much paler than usual; almost all of the traces of black had disappeared. "Are you alright?" She asked concernedly, and Pitch gave a half-hearted laugh, "No, but it's me that should be asking if you're alright, however I already know the answer to that". Pitch took his hands from her shoulders and looked at his fingers in disgust, "It's my fault you had that nightmare, my creation attacked you".

Elsa swallowed hard; Pitch was taking the news that his nightmare pony wasn't the guardian angel to Elsa that he had imagined it to be, pretty badly. Elsa was less surprised than Pitch, as the creature was clearly made of darkness and was not your average pony. "It's not your fault" Elsa insisted, trying to raise his spirits, "You saved me, you woke me up, didn't you?"

"Yes" Pitch admitted, "But".

"But nothing" Elsa finished for him.

"You don't understand" Pitch pushed, "I wanted him to protect you, he was meant to be a part of me".

A tragic expression broke across Pitch's pale face, like lightning splitting up a stormy sky. Elsa instinctively pulled him by the hand to sit beside her, and he let himself fall onto the bed with a heavy thud. She laid her head on his shoulder boldly and he stiffened at her touch, as if he too were not used to such close contact.

"Pitch, when I froze Anna's heart, I lost control because I was trying to get her to leave so I could keep her safe from me. Maybe…" Elsa had an awful thought and was horrified to hear the next words she spoke leave her lips, words that had tortured her mind but had never been spoken, "Maybe our powers weren't meant to protect, maybe we were meant to be alone…We're too dangerous…"

The words hung in the air like dirty cobwebs that Elsa wished to remove the moment she had let the words leave her mouth. She didn't move as she leant against Pitch's shoulder, and then suddenly she felt him wrap his arm tight around her waist. "I am sick of solitude" he said in his velvet soft voice, "I can't bear my life in the shadows, surrounded by nightmares and darkness, I can't bear to be alone anymore. As Hades sought Persephone before me, I too seek a light to shine in the under realm that is my palace. I have chosen you and I will not hurt you again".

"But you didn't" Elsa began hopelessly, knowing that Pitch would never accept his innocence, and she closed her eyes in defeat. A small butterfly flitted around inside her, sparking excitement at his romantic confession, but her desire to make him see reason stopped the rest from breaking free.

"It is my fault" Pitch said, holding her tighter still, and Elsa pried his fingers open a little, so they didn't dig into her waist. He loosened his grip considerably and then turned his face away from her, "Pitch?" She asked hesitantly, "You can hold me tight again, it's okay".

Pitch laughed sadly, "You're too good to me Elsa, but you don't know what I'm capable of and quite frankly neither do I". Elsa was silent and turned her face into his shoulder, so she could nestle against his silky neck. "Elsa I had business to do tonight, that's why I couldn't come and see you earlier". Pitch waited for a reply but Elsa just listened, comfortably nestled against him, "As Nightmare King you've probably guessed that my business involves giving people, usually children, nightmares".

Elsa didn't speak; she hadn't thought of that. In fact, she'd been so infatuated with the tall, dark and handsome stranger that had come into her life that she hadn't questioned what the rest of his time consisted of. Now it dawned upon her, that this had been a very foolish mistake, probably caused by her complete loneliness and desperation.

Kind of like how Anna felt when she first met Hans (her first fiancé), before she knew Elsa's secret. Anna had wanted to marry him after knowing him for only one day and Elsa had thought she was crazy, but now she understood. Anna had been crazy for love, so deprived of it since their parents' deaths that she fell into the arms of the first person that showed interest in her. But this is different, Elsa told herself, Pitch doesn't want to steal my kingdom or kill me, (both things of which Hans is guilty of), he and I are the same, we've shared the same sort of lonely past. A little voice in Elsa's head reminded her that Anna had also felt about Hans in such a way, but she shook those thoughts aside as they were unbearable.

She felt Pitch's hand let go of her and she slid off his shoulder as he stood up beside her, "You're upset, I can see, I should go". Elsa stood up quickly,

"No, please wait, I'm not", _Not with you_, she thought, thinking of playing a game of darts with Hans as the target. "But don't you see Elsa, look around you, where are the children in this town?"

"In Arendelle" she said automatically and Elsa's face fell as the realisation of what having the King of Nightmares be her companion meant dawned upon her. "You've terrorised the children of my kingdom" Elsa said slowly, in a carefully measured voice, her hands shaking slightly with cold fury. Pitch nodded, and eyed her shaking hands with an expression that clearly said that he wished she would let loose on him.

But Elsa did nothing, and the ice settled within the prison of pain that was the beautiful and tragic Snow Queen, once more.


	7. Chapter 7: Cold and Dark

Chapter 7: Cold and Dark

Elsa stood up from the bed and walked past Pitch Black to the window. "I had no choice" Pitch said, desperation cracking his usual silky smooth demeanour, "This is what I am Elsa". He turned to the window and drew back the curtain so the moonlight shone down on him, casting his tall shadow across the floor. He turned back to Elsa, his eyes determined, "Elsa this is who I am", he took a deep breath with conviction, "I am the Nightmare King and that will never change".

Elsa stared at him, her shaking hands slowly coming to rest at her sides. She saw the conviction and pride in Pitch's eyes and she knew, that she would not be the one to make him feel ashamed of who he was. She of all people, did not have the right to do that to him after all he had done for her.

Elsa was torn, if she let Pitch torture her people she would hate herself, but if she sent him away, well… She might as well leave with him.

"I won't take you away from your kingdom Elsa, I know you belong here, this was just a fantasy. I…" Pitch looked down at the floor with a mirthless laugh, "I was dreaming, I should have realised sooner but I got in too deep".

"But it wasn't a dream" Elsa said softly, "It was real, you and I, we can exist like this". Pitch laughed darkly, "How could you trust me?" Elsa stared at him, she could and she couldn't,

"I know you'd never hurt me, but my people…"

"You can't trust me with them" Pitch finished for her, "The children are not safe whilst I need to satisfy my lust for fear".

Elsa twirled her hands together nervously, forming tiny snow crystals of odd sizes and shapes; she wasn't being rational, there had to be a logical way of dealing with this. "There must be another way of doing this without Arendelle's children".

"I could go scare the children elsewhere" Pitch offered, "But then I wouldn't be able to see you in the evenings often because their fear isn't enough to keep me going for long periods of time, if I want to be strong that is". Elsa could see form the fiery pride in Pitch's eyes that being weak was not an option for him, not one that he would willingly accept anyway. "I don't think I'd like that" Elsa stammered, her cheeks burning red in embarrassment, _I rely on your company to keep me going_, she wanted to tell him but instead she gave him a tiny smile.

"Isn't there another source of fear that can sustain you for longer?" Elsa asked him and he laughed softly, "You make me sound like a parasite and maybe I am, but you must understand Elsa, I only want people to fear me so I can be believed in". Elsa was a little confused by this but said nothing, she had thought that since Pitch was the Nightmare King it made sense for him to frighten people. "If I am not believed in, I am invisible Elsa" Pitch explained, "And for people to believe in me they must fear me as the monster under their bed at night or the screams in their sleep". Elsa nodded slowly, beginning to understand a little of what being the Nightmare King meant.

"Every nightmare is born of the fears inside the human heart" Pitch continued, "I can always see the fears inside a heart, and I manipulate them to bring nightmares to people. Now it's mainly children for they are easy prey but in the Dark Ages, everybody feared me and I was more powerful than ever". An idea had begun to form in Elsa's mind and she clung to it despite the questions burning to be answered, "So you can get adults to believe in you too?" Pitch nodded, his voice condescending as he stated the obvious to her, "Haven't you noticed you do?"

Elsa blushed in embarrassment, "You don't have to say it like that" she said reproachfully, and he grinned, his gold-silver eyes glinting like diamonds in the moonlight, "Sometimes I can't help myself, bad habits die hard".

"Mmm" Elsa said testily, and Pitch pushed his hand through the air towards her, trailing liquid black smoke through the air to form a rose. "Forgive me" he said huskily, and Elsa accepted the rose with an unwilling smile; she couldn't stay mad at him with a gesture like that.

"Who could you get the most power from?" Elsa asked him, she was desperate to find an answer that meant that they could be together. "Well that's easy" Pitch replied, watching her gaze at the rose lovingly, "The Guardians, of course, if they feared me, I'd have the upper hand and everyone else would fear me soon after". Elsa looked at him quizzically and Pitch took a deep breath to bite back his desire to be belittling; he really wasn't used to being nice. "It's like this…If the Guardians fear me then they'll be distracted from their duties and children are bound to notice, and then eventually the adults will catch on and it will be just like old times". Pitch smiled as he reminisced about the Dark Ages and pictured Elsa, the Snow Queen, by his side. "Except I won't be alone this time because I'll have you by my side, which will make my vengeance much sweeter".

Elsa smiled uncertainly, she wasn't quite sure what the Dark Ages were but if it meant she could be together with Pitch, she'd do what she could to help him. "Let's do it" Elsa said, "Let's get the Guardians to fear you". It sounded too simple to Pitch. There was for one, the matter of his strength, he'd only just recovered from their last onslaught after he had tried to rise again. Secondly, it was going to be much more difficult this time because they would be expecting him. He hadn't lain dormant for long, it was only a few months ago that war had broken out between them.

"If it's five against one as usual, I'll need to build up my strength first so I can resist their counter attack" Pitch said, after giving it some thought. He hadn't really been serious about this plan but Elsa seemed so enthusiastic that she had lit the fire of revenge inside him. It would serve those Guardians right to fear him once more, he thought. "Two against five, you mean" Elsa corrected him, a slight frown on her face. Pitch raised an eyebrow at her disbelievingly, "You think I'm going to take you to poison the dreams of the Guardians?" Pitch was incredulous, "I don't think so".

Elsa fumed, her fingertips frosting over and her eyes flashing a warning, "Don't underestimate me Pitch, I'm not as weak as you seem to imagine". Pitch smirked, he couldn't help it, "Maybe…but you're not as dangerous as you seem to believe either". Elsa's hands shook in anger, "What do you know? You've never seen me! I nearly killed Wesleton's men when they attacked me in my ice palace". Pitch's face flushed with pleasure at annoying her, his gaunt cheeks lifting in a knowing smile, "Ah yes, but you didn't kill them did you?"

"No" Elsa faltered in her resolve.

"And you never really wanted to hurt them, did you?"

"I guess not" Elsa agreed with him, kicking herself for doing so, so easily! Pitch was crafty and manipulative, and she found herself falling into his traps so he got his own way over and over again.

"But I can help you get the Guardians to believe in you. A nightmare doesn't really hurt anybody, it's just a bad dream after all".

"Is it?" Pitch asked her softly, his gold-silver eyes fixed upon her own, searching for something that would betray her true feelings, but all he saw in the sparkling blue eyes was a stubborn determination. "Yes it is and I am going to help you give the Guardians nightmares so they believe in your powers again". Elsa heard herself speak yet hardly believed the words that came out of her mouth. This was not like her, it was too reckless, but she was convinced it was the only way that she and Pitch could have what they wanted.

"You're sure?" Pitch asked her, a surge of hope daring to rise up inside him.

"I am certain" Elsa said, laying her hand on his shoulder, her hand cold against the black cloth of his cloak, "After all, what goes together better than cold and dark?"

"My thoughts exactly" Pitch growled. Finally convinced by these words, he cupped her hand within his own, "You are perfect, my Queen…"

The next night Elsa waited for Pitch upon her bed. She had drawn the curtains as he had asked her to and made sure that she'd worn black as he had requested. Before he'd left last night they had devised a plan. They would travel to the Guardians together after dusk and poison each of their dreams, then return before first morning's light, for Pitch's sake, he just didn't do well in sunlight. Elsa would make each Guardian feel frozen in their bed and Pitch would turn their dreams to nightmares. No Guardian would forget their nightmares or their cause on this night.

As for Jack Frost, Pitch said he personally had something special in store for him, as he was assumed to be resistive to the powers of winter. Besides, Pitch had a grudge to settle with him.

Elsa smoothed her sleek black dress down over her hips; it felt warm against her skin. She'd been wearing clothes of her own creation for so long now that it felt odd wearing normal clothes. But was this outfit normal? When Pitch had asked Elsa to wear something black, (to look less conspicuous she imagined), she had searched through her wardrobe for something other than the mourning clothes she had worn when her parents had died just over three years ago. She hadn't expected to find much because since she had revealed her power to the people of Arendelle, she had only worn the clothes that she made. Beautiful capes of silver and blue snowflakes, sparkling sky blue dresses, silver gloves and sheer floaty fabrics of ice woven together with diamond shaped ice chips. Then she had reached into the very back of her wardrobe and spotted a magnificent outfit that was almost one with the darkness.

She gazed at herself in the mirror now, still marvelling at it. Long flowing sleeves of a sheer fabric made of the finest silk, a tight bodice that hugged her slim figure and a flowing skirt that trailed on the ground, speckled with black diamonds. The dress came complete with spiky black heels that sparkled with black glitter, and she adjusted the black snowflake clip that held her long wavy blonde hair to one side, so that it hung over her shoulder elegantly.

Suddenly Pitch's reflection appeared behind her in the mirror, "I see you like the outfit I chose for you".

Elsa glared at him, pretending to be angry by his sudden appearance, "I found it in my wardrobe" she argued. Pitch smirked,

"C'mon Elsa, we both know I put it there". Elsa couldn't argue with him, she hadn't noticed the dress there before tonight. "You were hiding in my closet?" Elsa asked suspiciously, and then laughed at herself, "Well you are the Boogeyman so I guess that actually makes sense".

"And now you're talking to yourself again" Pitch commented in a bored tone, "And you think I'm weird".

"Be quiet" Elsa snapped, turning around to face Pitch. But the moment her eyes left the mirror, he was gone. She looked around her room with searching eyes but she could never spot his shadow. She was about to look back at the mirror when a soft voice whispered, "Boo" in her ear, making her let out a tiny scream.

"Pitch!" She hissed, rounding on him and coming face to face with him properly this time. Pitch ran his hand down his chest, exposed by the long v-neckline of his cloak, "I couldn't help myself, you're such fun" he chuckled, "But now we really should get on, time is running out".

Elsa nodded, her heart beat slowing from Pitch's latest scare tactic. Pitch held his hand out to her, "First, we'll see North, you'll be in your element at the North Pole". Elsa gave him a small smile, it was nice to think that he wanted to make her feel comfortable. "But how will we get there?" Elsa asked, just realising this gaping hole in their master plan.

"We'll move though the shadows of course" Pitch said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the word. Elsa realised with a sigh, that she was the only one that had not worked that part out.

"Just hold onto me and don't let go. When you fall into darkness, it is very hard to come back…" Pitch held his hand out to her and she took it shakily. "It will be okay" he assured her, "I won't lose you now". He pulled her towards him so she bumped up against his chiselled chest, her other hand pressed against it. Elsa looked up at him in awe and he looked down at her approvingly, "I am impressed by your loyalty my Queen, and you should know that I will never betray you".

Elsa's heart leapt and Pitch wrapped his arms around her like a bat closing its wings, then took a step back into the shadows. He disappeared into darkness with Elsa in his arms, her eyes closed tight.

When Elsa opened her eyes, they were standing in the corner of a festive bedroom decorated with holy and children's toys. Elsa also noticed a set of twin swords hung on the wall and an array of weapons carelessly littered on the ground beneath it. Elsa clung to Pitch's chest with both hands now, and he gestured with a tilt of his head to a huge red mound, rising and falling, on a giant bed. Elsa slowly let go of Pitch and moved towards the mound, "Santa?" She whispered in wonder, and Pitch covered her mouth gently with his hand. Elsa shook him off and he gave her a meaningful look as he mouthed, "Remember the plan". Elsa nodded and raised her hands into the air, drawing ice into them until it took the shape of a large snow ball. She then spread her arms apart and the snow quietly exploded into tiny particles that floated down to settle on everything in the room, including North, who shivered in his sleep. Pitch stepped in front of Elsa now, slashing the air with his own hands, forming a whirlwind of black sand that took the shape of a great stallion, twenty times larger and fiercer than the nightmare pony Elsa had been gifted. Elsa's hair raised on end and Pitch took her by the hand, using his other hand to direct the nightmare towards North. The nightmare settled on the red mound that was Santa and fixed him with the intense glow of its hollow gold-silver eyes. Suddenly North began to sweat and started mumbling in his sleep, "No Jack! Don't leave us for him!" He tossed and turned violently and Elsa's eyes widened in alarm, "You're a Guardian now, Jack we need you!"

Elsa stared at the writhing figure of Santa, transfixed, he was a childhood legend, reduced to this. Pitch wrapped his arm around her consolingly, "Time to go, I think". Elsa nodded and took the hand he offered to her, leaning her head against Pitch's silky smooth chest with her eyes closed in defeat. This was the only way they could truly be together, they had to do this. Pitch closed his arms around her and they stepped into the darkness.

This time when she opened her eyes she was in the middle of what she imagined to be the most gigantic rabbit hole in the world. It was beautiful though, not just any ordinary hole. There were tiny painted eggs lining the walls, and two large tribal eggs standing at the entrance, still as the stone they appeared to be carved from. In the corner of the room, sleeping on a wooden bed with his boomerang in hand, was Bunnymund, sleeping like a baby. He was huge, but Elsa didn't have time to marvel at that for there was work to do.

She let go of Pitch and repeated the procedure she had undertaken at North's place. Soon Bunnymund's teeth were chattering and Pitch was casting a nightmare upon him. Then they were off again, escaping into the night like dark spectres leaving misery in their wake.

Next, they visited the Tooth Palace. Elsa stared around at the tiny sleeping fairies huddled together around a very human sized fairy with beautiful plumage, like the colours of a peacock with splashes of yellow. It was difficult to see her properly in the dim light, (not that Elsa would recognise her anyway), but Elsa was certain that this must be the Tooth Fairy. She looked to Pitch for confirmation of this and he nodded. Elsa raised her bare hands once more, for purposefully no gloves had come with the outfit, and so she unleashed her power, unrestrained, once again. Pitch grinned malevolently as he created a massive nightmare mare to torture Toothiana's dreams. The beautiful fairy twitched in her sleep and Elsa watched, feeling a little frightened for her until she felt Pitch's arm curl around her and take her to the shadows.

This time she didn't close her eyes and watched Pitch leading them through the shadows, first to the shadow behind a bathroom door, then a basement, underneath a child's bed, the gap at the back of a closet and on and on, until they reached the snowy hill top where Jack Frost lay sleeping beneath the stars and a lone tree.

"What about the Sand Man?" Elsa asked Pitch softly, "Shouldn't we get him first?" Elsa was confused, she had thought Pitch had something special in store for Jack Frost. Pitch looked uneasy for a moment, but then wiped the uncomfortable expression from his face, "I don't want to disturb Sandy until I'm absolutely certain I've got the rest of the Guardians under control, you see he could destroy everything with his golden dream sand". Elsa wasn't sure what made the Sand Man such a threat; what made his sand so powerful? Still, she didn't push Pitch for she realised it wasn't the right time for that.

Instead, she let her eyes travel over to Jack Frost, curled up on the mountain peak, snow dusted hair messy upon his head, and mouth slightly open as he dreamt of something pleasant, Elsa imagined. She wondered what Pitch had in store for him, and felt a stab of guilt at being party to his attack. The boy seemed so peaceful and innocent, and so like her, that it seemed wrong to work against him. It was wrong to destroy his dreams.

"Pitch" she said, turning around to talk him out of it, but as usual, he had disappeared when she had least expected it. When she turned back to watch over Jack, Pitch was standing above him holding a great ball of dark energy. Pitch slowly shaped the energy into the most dangerous looking nightmare yet, a wild brumby that rose up on its hind legs and landed its front hooves square on Jack's chest.

Jack shivered in his sleep but unlike the other Guardians, it wasn't because of the cold. "Sarah go!" Jack cried, "Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!" He called the girl's name over and over again, trembling with sobs in his sleep until Elsa could not bear his agony any longer. Pitch just stood over Jack laughing, oblivious to Elsa's discomfort. She raced over to them in a mad rush to put Jack out of his misery, and pushing past Pitch she shook Jack Frost by the shoulders to rouse him from this torture.

His eyes snapped open in a flash, and he whirled the curled staff he slept with through the air to knock her off him. Elsa stumbled back on impact and Pitch caught her in his arms, furious, with who she could not say. Jack scrambled to his feet, his confused expression showing that his brain was still muddled with sleep and the nightmare. "What's going on?" He took in Pitch, his gold-silver eyes fiery with hate, his nightmare brumby at his side, and then his eyes widened in shock at the fair lady beside him, clad in black just like Pitch.

"Who are you?" Jack demanded, uncertain of whether this was just him dreaming. It seemed so surreal to see another with skin like snow as his was, and sparkling blue eyes that shone like icicles, just like his own. Elsa opened her mouth automatically, "Queen Elsa of Arendelle" she said, her breath fogging up in the cold mountain air. Pitch looked from Elsa to Jack and then back again, a deep frown etched upon his gaunt face. "It's a pleasure to meet you" Jack said with a small bow, making sure to keep his head up so he could keep an eye on Pitch, who he noticed was still holding the lady in his arms. "I'm Jack Frost" he added, straightening up, and Pitch glowered at him with such loathing that it was impressive that Jack did not quake on his bare feet.

Pitch whispered something inaudible to the brumby and it turned its hollow eyes upon Jack menacingly. It started to advance towards him and this time Jack stepped back in what Pitch knew was fear. Elsa looked up at Pitch in fright, but he simply stroked her back to calm her. "Back off Pitch" Jack shouted, brandishing his staff at him, "I'm warning you". Pitch laughed and the sound echoed all over the mountain side, coming from everywhere and no-where at once. "I see your fears Jack Frost and you will not win this time".

Pitch pulled Elsa behind him, and the brumby looked back to its master for direction, "Get him!" Pitch screeched, and as the brumby raised itself up on its hind legs to slam down on Jack's chest again, the boy raised his staff to freeze it solid. The ice flew from his staff but at the last millisecond the brumby dashed out of the way and the ice beam headed straight for Pitch.

Pitch held his hands out protectively to cover him and Elsa with a shield made of shadows, but the ice smashed through it and would have knocked him senseless if it wasn't for the ice beam Elsa shot at it, as she ducked out from behind Pitch's back. The ice beams collided and shattered in a powder so fine, that it fell upon all of them, as soft as snow.

Jack stared at Elsa, his eyes as wide as the moon and his mouth hanging open in shock. He was rendered speechless.

"It's time to leave" Pitch told Elsa softly, as she lowered her hands to her sides shakily. Elsa nodded, in shock herself, and Pitch wrapped his arms around her. "This isn't over Jack Frost" he spat, and then stepped into his shadow, pulling Elsa with him into the refuge of darkness.


	8. Chapter 8: The Queen of Nightmares

Chapter 8: The Queen of Nightmares

Elsa and Pitch emerged in the spot that Pitch had first come to see Elsa: under her bed. Pitch lay back, practically melting into the darkness and Elsa reddened as she slid off him, to lie beside him. "Are you okay?" She asked breathlessly, the rush of Jack Frost's ice beam making her heart beat thud in her ears. Pitch laughed softly, "I'm not wounded, if that's what you mean". He tilted his face to the side and all Elsa could see were his gold-silver eyes glowing in the darkness, "Thank you for helping me" he murmured.

Elsa said nothing. She could tell that Pitch's pride was wounded; he hadn't expected Elsa to protect him against Jack Frost. "What will we do about the Sand Man?" Elsa asked, trying to distract him with a change of conversation. Pitch rolled his eyes, making his pupils disappear for a moment, so his eyes were as hollow and terrifying as that of his nightmares, "There's no point in trying to get Sandy now, Jack will have signalled all the Guardians to meet at the North Pole".

"What do we do?" Elsa asked, pleased that Pitch had taken her bait, and seemed less wounded now. Pitch closed his eyes patiently, "We wait and when they come for us, we make sure we're ready for them".

Pitch and Elsa slept under the bed that night. Elsa curled on her side and Pitch on his, with his arms wrapped around her. Nobody spoke of it but it was clear that Pitch did not want to come out from the shadows. He didn't explain why until morning. As the light of dawn filtered into Elsa's room, he slipped out from under the bed, weaving through the shadows until he reached the curtains. He drew them shut and the light helplessly beat against the blue curtains, casting the room in shadow. "Pitch?" Elsa asked him sleepily, crawling out from underneath the bed and stretching out like a cat, as she emerged tousle haired and eyes half closed. Pitch extended his hand to her and she took it gratefully, letting him pull her to her feet, "Why'd you close them?" Pitch sat down on the edge of the bed, making himself quite at home, "Blocking out the sunlight" he rolled his eyes condescendingly, "I thought you realised, I can't exist in sunlight for long, I can only dwell in shadows". Elsa was surprised to hear this, "But you came skiing with me".

"At dusk" Pitch finished for her, "The sun was at its weakest and I get stronger as night approaches".

"How strong do you feel right now?" Elsa asked him, suddenly remembering the whole point of their quest, to make Pitch believed in and feared enough that he could stay by her side. Pitch held his hands out in front of him. He curled his fingers and flames of blue back appeared in them. Elsa's eyes widened in wonder. Pitch closed his hands into fists, extinguishing the flames and brought his hands together. When he pulled them apart, a great gaping wormhole expanded between them. "I'm strong enough to take you to my palace and fulfil my end of our bargain. Come with me and I will teach you to channel your fears into strength, so that you can control the awesome power that they create".

Elsa took Pitch's hand, finally putting her complete trust in him, "I'm ready" she said. Pitch smiled at her, his gold and silver eyes dancing with excitement, "Step with me through this portal to my lair".

"Right" Elsa replied, her stomach twisting in fear, she'd never jumped through a portal, obviously. The portal widened to accommodate them both and Pitch stepped forward into it, so only his hand holding onto Elsa's could be seen in Arendelle. Elsa gulped and stepped into the black hole, her eyes squeezed shut in anticipation of what was to come.

It wasn't so bad. After the sensation of feeling like she was falling and flying all at the same time, Elsa felt her feet touch solid ground again and slowly opened her eyes. They were in a dimly lit underground chamber, with a massive iron globe of the world in the centre, filled with flashing lights that twinkled like stars in the darkness. There was no other light in the room and Elsa suddenly realised that Pitch was no longer holding her hand. She froze, "Pitch?" She called out, her voice echoing throughout the empty room. There was no reply. Elsa opened her eyes wide and tried to search for some sign of Pitch in the dimly lit room. All she could make out was a couple entrances that lead to other sections of what looked like an ancient sunken palace, that that had been raided and fallen into ruins.

"Pitch, this isn't funny, come out", Elsa called for him again, her voice softer as fear began to take hold of her. What kind of game was he playing at? Something metal clattered to the floor behind her and Elsa swerved around, her hands poised to attack. "Who's there?" She called bravely, "I'm warning you, I will not hold back on you".

Slow claps sounded in the shadows and then Pitch's voice reverberated around the room, "Well done my Queen, step one of your training is complete, you have started to overcome fear". Elsa threw her head back and laughed out loud,

"You have got to be kidding, Pitch you had me scared out of my mind".

"I'm glad" he purred, "To control your fear, you must _feel_ it and know it".

Elsa didn't know how Pitch could make fear sound so…sensual…

Elsa stopped laughing, maybe Pitch was right; this could be just what she needed. "What are you afraid of more than anything in the world?" Pitch whispered, from the shadows on the walls, the floor, everywhere that darkness existed. "My powers…my strength….and not being able to control it". The frozen image of Anna on the fjord swam into her mind, and she blocked it out forcefully. "Mmm…" Pitch murmured, "There is nobody here that you can harm, to learn to channel your fear you must remember that first you need to _feel_ it and overcome it. I want you to let it all go".

_Let it go…_ Elsa remembered singing the words to herself as she had left Arendelle last summer. That had been the last time she had truly let herself go and it had felt…wonderful…

Elsa looked around the room but couldn't see much. The room seemed to be barren and grey- dull and lifeless really, and everything seemed to be on an angle, so that the whole place seemed like it was sliding into ruin. Elsa thought it could use a bit of a makeover.

"Okay" Elsa said, "But don't say I didn't warn you". She raised her hands into the air and thought, _I want to create a magnificent ice chandelier in jagged snowflakes, with stalactites hanging down with razor sharp edges._ Then Elsa felt the rush of cold run into her fingers as she willed her power to let loose, and a stream of ice poured forth into the magnificent chandelier of her mind's creation. Elsa beamed as she gazed up at her creation, and then realised that she was in a cavernous palace with black bird cages hanging above them, from a ceiling too distant to see. Her fingers tingled with the urge to create more, to touch this dark place with her magic, to make it feel like home.

Elsa took a purposeful step on the cold grey stone beneath her spiky heeled shoe, and the stone froze over with ice and a large ornate snowflake. Elsa felt her smile widen, and she placed her other foot forward to create another tile of ornate ice. Slowly Elsa made her way around the dilapidated room, (if that's what you could call it), decorating the floor until she had a brain wave. "Oh thank God, I was meaning to do something with the place" Pitch said in a sarcastic tone, but Elsa ignored him, "I'm so glad you let it go, I mean this is better than Backyard Blitz" he continued relentlessly. She put both of her hands out in front of her and then swung around in a full circle, letting ice fly from her finger tips to splash onto the floor in her signature snowflake pattern. She kept turning until the whole floor was covered in beautiful glittering ice, and then fell to the floor in a dizzy heap.

"C'mon" Pitch prodded her, "Is that all you've got? I was kind of hoping you'd try to shoot me, but the makeover is….nice" Pitch sounded slightly mortified and Elsa smiled, _oh no his sadistic joy at others' discomfort is rubbing off on me_, she thought and then shrugged, it was fun.

Elsa breathed heavily, she was a little out of shape; being shut up in her castle hadn't exactly proved a work out for using her powers, only at shutting them out. "It would be easier to use my powers if I could see!" Elsa retorted hotly and Pitch chuckled, clearly amused by her anger, "I do love it when you get mad".

Elsa fumed and tapped her foot in annoyance. A click of his fingers snapped through the air and brilliant black and blue flames lit the chandelier, casting an eerie light over the room. This illuminated bare grey walls and ledges Elsa imagined once had grander days. "Thank you" Elsa said to Pitch, knowing those blue black flames belonged to him. She didn't wait for a reply and ran the length of the room, her fingers trailing along the dark wall splashed with the shadows of the stalactites of her creation. Everything her finger tips touched blossomed into blue snowflake patterns, and she ran around the rest of the room leaving a strip of it like wallpaper. Then she pressed her hand to the wall and closed her eyes in concentration. Ice started spreading from her hands in all directions, coating the walls like frosted glass. Slowly all the walls were covered in the white frost with the blue snowflake pattern running through them, and Elsa felt the last of her strength fade as she felt the cold snap of the final piece of wall being completed. Elsa opened her eyes to marvel at her work, the barren stone room had transformed into an underground crystal palace.

But it was too empty…Suddenly Elsa didn't want to be alone anymore.

As if on cue, Pitch rose out of the shadows on the floor in front of her. Elsa smiled gratefully, "Finally you're here". Pitch frowned at her,

"This is the part where you're meant to be frightened". Elsa nervously took him by the hands, and fixed his gold and silver eyes with her sparkling gaze, "I don't need to fear you to believe in you Pitch, you don't have to scare me anymore…"

Pitch looked shocked and opened his mouth to retaliate, but then on seeing the serious expression on Elsa's face, he closed his mouth again, a smirk emerging. "What?" Elsa asked self-consciously, touching her loose hair and looking away from him, "Did you think maybe I enjoy it?" Pitch asked her, his gold silver eyes glinting mischievously in the blue light. Elsa gave his hands a squeeze, "You are a terrible liar Pitch Black" she told him with a playful smile. He let go of her hands and reached down into the shadow cast by a stalactite, his hand disappearing into the darkness.

Elsa watched him in astonishment, forgetting that she was meant to probably be annoyed at him by now, but was too distracted by this new experience of Pitch's powers. "Step three of your training" Pitch announced, making it clear that play time was over, "Is mastering weaponry". Elsa shrank away from him,

"I don't want to use weapons. I don't want to hurt anyone…" Pitch shook his head,

"You can't worry about those things anymore. Every time you worry about hurting somebody, you feed your fears. Isn't that where the fear comes from?" Elsa nodded, alarmed at his insightfulness. "Don't you think" Pitch continued, "That if you weren't afraid of hurting anyone then your powers wouldn't bother you, they wouldn't scare you anymore?" Elsa absorbed this information slowly, _Pitch had a point_…. "But I don't see how me mastering weaponry will help that". She knew she had a point there. Pitch moved his hand through the shadow, as if forging something deep within it and then lifted his hand slowly upwards, and with it, came a pitch black scythe (no pun intended), born of the shadow itself and carved from darkness. Elsa gasped, it looked exactly like something the Grim Reaper himself would wield.

"Am I afraid of my weapon?" Pitch asked her, now a teacher speaking to his student. Elsa shook her head, her eyes glued to the curved black blade that was sharp enough to cut anything that was unfortunate enough to get in its way. "No" Elsa replied, watching Pitch hold the scythe with the command of a general of war. "Correct" Pitch replied, "And why is that?"

"Because you made it" Elsa replied, then she gave herself a small slap on the cheek, she finally understood! "I see, so if I master the creation of my own weapons then I don't need to be afraid anymore. I mean there's no need to fear my own creations".

"That's right" Pitch agreed with approval, "Turn your weakness into strength. Learn to protect yourself and channel your powers with good intentions. Remember what the troll told you as a child: fear will be your enemy". Elsa's eyes widened in shock

"How do you know about that?" Pitch gave her a superior smile,

"I always know people's fears".

Elsa raised an eyebrow at him, "We'll test that theory some time". Pitch laughed,

"It would be my_ pleasure_, I assure you. But now, again, we must get to work, for you to complete step three you must now create your own weapon". Elsa felt determination well up inside her, making her strong and she nodded in agreement, looking around the room for inspiration. The only thing in sight that was of any help was the scythe, unless she made an ice sword, but that idea seemed lame compared to Pitch's weapon.

Elsa looked at the scythe and focused on what she wanted her own scythe to look like. _What would the Queen of Nightmares scythe look like?_ She let a smile break out on her face, and Pitch gave her a queer look. Elsa grinned, knowing he couldn't know these thoughts, and held her hands up high above her head, ready to let loose.

_A beautiful white blade of frosted ice, curled into a crescent moon that falls into a deep frown on one end, _she thought to herself as she moved her hand through the air, so her creation was created roughly out of snow. She wiped her other hand over it to clear the snow and created the perfect white blade she'd imagined, and the snow brushed away to reveal shining frosted ice. _Now, decorate this white staff with blue icy vines twirled around it, with clear crystal lilies as ornament, _Elsa thought it and moved her hand down from the blade to the base, leaving another rough snowy outline of her mind's creation behind. With a rush of excitement, Elsa ran her hand down the staff to reveal the design within. Her beautiful weapon was complete.

She grasped it firmly and met Pitch's fiery eyes, ignited with passion. "An A plus for step three my Queen, your weapon is both elegant and personal enough to…" Pitch's cheeks blackened, and Elsa knew now that this was definitely him blushing, "To warrant my attention" he finished hastily, "It's very flattering, thank you…"

Elsa eyed his dark scythe jealously, "Thanks but it's not as well-crafted as yours". The black glossy weapon glinted in the flickering light of the blue flames, and seemed to be made of darkness denser than ice. "You are stronger than you imagine" Pitch told her silkily, and Elsa laughed half-heartedly, "I don't think so, not in the way of fighting skills anyway".

"You held your own with Wesleton's men, didn't you?"

"That was different" Elsa countered him, secretly feeling proud of her actions against those horrible men, for the first time, "It was self-defence".

"And so is this, in a way, you are learning to fight to protect the ones you love. You are learning to fight so you can learn to love yourself, who you really are, all of you, just as you are". Elsa's eyes widened, they were beautiful words for the King of Nightmares to speak. Butterflies erupted in her chest, did he know her true feelings for him? Could he feel the same?

Elsa nodded, her sparkling blue eyes eager to learn to use her powers as a weapon for the first time, "What do I need to do?" Pitch smiled, sliding his hand down the scythe's long handle, "First you need to watch closely". Pitch lifted the scythe, swung it over his shoulder in a flash and then brought it crashing down an inch from Elsa's head, making her hair blow in the rush of speed. Elsa almost had a heart attack and pointed a finger at Pitch accusingly, "Just watch?" She said, forcing a laugh, "You almost killed me".

"But I didn't" Pitch corrected her in his silky voice, and she admired the way he gracefully brought the scythe back to his side. 'No, you didn't" she agreed begrudgingly. Pitch ran his hand through his spiky black hair coolly, "And you learnt something too". Elsa looked from Pitch to his scythe, he was dangerous, she had just learnt that the hard way. "Speed is everything" he answered for her, rolling his eyes as if he knew exactly what she was thinking, "And don't trust your opponent, not even for a second".

"But you never said you were my opponent" Elsa countered, but Pitch just wagged his long pointer finger at her in an annoying fashion, 'Your enemy won't tell you either" he said wisely. Elsa said nothing because she knew he was right.

"Now you try" Pitch told her, standing back from her defensively. Elsa raised an eyebrow at him, "Oh so you're not going to let me try swing my scythe next to your head?" Pitch gave her a sly smile in return, "I have control, you are still learning". He said the words in his superior tone and Elsa had a good mind to give him a dose of his own medicine, but she really didn't want to accidentally behead him.

She fumed in silence. "Now, swing the scythe back behind your back". Elsa slowly followed his instructions, the scythe trembling in her hands due to the sheer weight of it, "Then bring it forward over your head to almost hit the floor". Elsa followed his directions at a snail's pace. Pitch watched her clumsy technique with amusement, even going slower than ever, the movement was sloppy. Elsa saw the amused look in his eyes and swung the scythe back over her shoulder disdainfully, "I was just practising, this time I'll do it for real". Pitch widened his gold silver eyes innocently, 'I didn't say a word" he exclaimed.

"You don't have to" Elsa muttered darkly, swinging the scythe over her head slightly faster this time.

"That's better" Pitch encouraged her, and Elsa reluctantly gave him a small smile. She practised swinging the scythe over and over again, and every time she tried it the blade cut faster, deadlier, stronger, until Pitch held up his hand to stop her, "That's perfect, you can relax now".

Elsa lay the scythe down on the ground and slumped where she stood, "I am exhausted" she panted, "Please tell me that's step four complete".

"It is" Pitch confirmed, a small smile curling his lips as he watched an unfit Elsa recover.

"Yay" she said weakly and flopped down on the ground beside her scythe. "Oh what I wouldn't do for an ice cold water right now" she fantasised, closing her eyes to picture the water in a tall, frosted glass. She opened her eyes to persuade Pitch to get hers some, (it wasn't really the same if she tried to make it herself), but he had disappeared again.

Pitch's advice played over in Elsa's head: _don't trust your opponent, not even for a second…_Elsa had forgotten that they were still playing this game, and now Pitch had the upper hand again.

"Step five", Pitch's voice whispered, coming from the darkness all around, "Is to catch me and strike me with your scythe". Somewhere inside her, a fist squeezed Elsa's heart and it hurt in her chest, "No, I won't hurt you".

"It won't hurt me" Pitch assured her, "I won't let it get that far. I can disappear into any of these shadows when I please. Trust me, there isn't a chance that you could harm me in this place". Pitch's arrogance would usually annoy Elsa, but on this occasion, his self-assurance was exactly what she needed to hear. "You're sure?" She asked hesitantly, picking up the scythe as if it could turn on her at any moment. "I'm certain, there is no need to fear your power, _unleash it_ upon me".

He made it sound so overtly sexual.

Suddenly, Pitch swooped down from the ceiling above her and she ducked to avoid the black scythe he had evidently taken with him into the shadows. "You attacked me!" Elsa accused him, standing up with her weapon in outrage, "How dare you?" Pitch had never heard Elsa sound so very queenly and his laughter echoed around the room, deep and foreboding in his dark amusement at bringing that side out in her, "To pass step five of your training, you must strike me! But I will not make it easy for you. Remember this training is to learn to protect the ones you love, now fight me!"

Pitch materialised in front of Elsa, his scythe raised to attack and Elsa instinctively brought hers up to meet his. Clang! The sound of solid darkness on ice pierced the air like a knife. Pitch grinned at her, and Elsa stared at the scythe that would have just saved her life if Pitch really was her enemy. Somebody tapped her shoulder and she swung around, her scythe flying through the air with her at break neck speed to apprehend darkness. "Look before you strike" Pitch warned her, "We", he paused thoughtfully, "I mean you, won't want to take down innocents".

Elsa heaved the scythe over her shoulder and above it like a baseball player wielded a bat, "Bring it on" she egged on Pitch, but this time he stayed silent. Elsa scanned the cavernous room with her eyes peeled, Pitch could be hiding anywhere. Suddenly, she noticed the long shadow that the grey globe of the earth was casting across the floor, and the way it had just moved unnaturally, as if it had been disturbed.

Elsa casually turned her back on the shadow, making sure she stayed in the light as she did so. As she had expected, the rustle of Pitch's cloak reached her ears and she sensed movement behind her. She swung the scythe in the direction of the sound as she turned around at breakneck speed, registering her enemy before she let the blow fall across his shoulder.

And fall it did. The heavy thud of the scythe boomed against Pitch's shoulder, before he shrank back into the darkness, preventing the scythe from sinking any deeper into his flesh.

Elsa screamed, throwing her scythe aside as if it would contaminate her. "Pitch, no!" Elsa dropped to her knees, tears formed in her yes and streamed down her cheeks without restraint, 'I'm so sorry, you said I couldn't harm you!"

Pitch's spiky hair emerged from the globe's shadow, followed by his paled face and injured body, stiff from shock. Elsa rushed up to him, flinging herself into his arms, "I'm so, so sorry!" Pitch flinched and pushed her back so he could hold his right hand over the bare skin of his shoulder, exposed by the scythe which had cut straight through his cloak of darkness.

"You're hurt?" Elsa squealed, looking more terrified and hysterical by the second, "Let me see". Pitch forced a smile on, "I'm fine, it's just a scratch". Elsa didn't have time to act cool and calm like usual and she yanked his hand away. Pitch let go with a shrug of his good shoulder, "It's just a scratch" he repeated uneasily.

Elsa felt sick at the sight of the deep bleeding wound on Pitch's shoulder, put there by her own hand, her own scythe. "We should…" Elsa thought hard, what should they do? It didn't look like Pitch had a doctor down here or a first aid kit. "Put some ice on it" she finished lamely, and then before Pitch could object, she placed her own hand over the wound and pushed it together with a gentle stream of ice that flowed from her fingers and palm. Pitch sucked in a breath of pain and Elsa gave him a guilty look, "Sorry, I needed to do something", _to fix what I did to you_, she finished in her head.

Pitch shook his head, "No, you didn't, this was my fault. I pushed you into doing this. I'm sorry". Elsa laughed hysterically,

"You're sorry? No, I'm sorry for just slashing your shoulder with my scythe".

"I did tell you to attack me" Pitch pointed out, but Elsa was smarter than that,

"I should have known better than to listen". Elsa took her hand off Pitch's shoulder and recoiled at what she saw: white ice with swirls of red blood mixed through it like raspberry ripple ice-cream.

Pitch on the other hand, gazed at it in admiration, "I like it better in red" he said smoothly, "It's more frightening". Elsa gaped at him in disbelief, much like an outraged goldfish, "Can't you just forget about scaring people for one second?" Pitch gave her an incredulous look, "That's like telling North to forget about Christmas, he'd rather eat his own hat". Elsa rolled her eyes in exasperation, "Pitch! This is different! I don't want to hurt anyone anymore, especially not you and now…." She tearfully gazed at his gold silver eyes, "Now, I've done that too…" Elsa turned away from him, 'I can't do this Pitch" she confessed, "I'm sorry. I've failed you".

"No, you haven't".

Pitch took Elsa by the hand and pulled her back tight against his chest in a hug that warmed her cold skin, "You have brought me back to life and have given me something to live for. I've waited too long in the shadows, longing for a family, and now…now I have you". Pitch hesitated, feeling Elsa's stomach rise and fall steadily with her breath, "I don't care if you fight or not, you don't have to. Forget the scythe, destroy it if you want. I just want you to say you'll be mine…won't you…."

Pitch spun Elsa around in his arms, fixing her with his intense gold and silver gaze, "Won't you by my Queen of Nightmares?" Elsa raised a hand to wipe away the tears on her face, and felt her heart beating in her ears, this was it; the moment she'd been waiting for, "Yes Pitch, I'll be your Queen, until the end". Pitch pulled Elsa closer, his magnificent eyes fluttering closed, 'Kiss me" he urged her, and Elsa met his lips with her own, with a hunger that only the two of them could understand.

They had found their soul mates at last; light and dark had formed a union that was unspeakable and unbreakable. Nothing could tear them apart…

But…._They_ would try…


	9. Chapter 9: The Guardian's Plan and Bunny

Chapter 9: The Guardians' Plan and Bunny in Love

North clambered down the chimney of Elsa's room, his muffled swearing echoing around him. "Watch it Sandy" drawled Bunnymund in his Australian accent, and the two Guardians promptly fell onto North, sending all three slamming into the fireplace. They landed on a pile of unused logs and North cursed some more, with Bunnymund adding to the list of obscenities being spoken with some Australian slang. Sandy just shook the ash out of his hair and a golden exclamation mark symbol appeared in a bubble over his head.

North picked Bunnymund and Sandy up off him and placed them into the room, then jumped out of the fireplace himself, with such finesse that it was obvious that this was indeed Santa. Toothiana gracefully fluttered down the chimney to land on the logs like a bird, and Bunnymund twitched his ears in response, "If we'd used my rabbit holes, I'd have looked like that too" he muttered with a wry smile.

North chuckled, "Tough luck my friend, you drew the shortest straw". Bunnymund scowled and extended a hand to help Toothiana from the fireplace. "Thanks Bunny!" Toothiana chirped and Bunnymund's whiskers twitched again, nervously, "Ah that's alright mate".

North wiped the ash from his clothing and off his burly muscled arms, (although this also rubbed ash into them adding to that whole roguish look he had going on), and looked around the dimly lit room, the curtains drawn against the morning sun. "There is dark presence here…Jack Frost was right". Bunnymund stepped up to the bed, and peered beneath it, his nose screwed up as he breathed in an unpleasant scent, "The place reeks of Pitch, he was definitely here recently". Toothiana flew over to Bunnymund and hovered above his shoulder, "Do you think he took the lady?" Bunnymund stroked his whiskers thoughtfully and Sandy bobbed over to them through the air, a series of images flashing in the thought bubble above his head.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down Sandy!" North sand, coming up to stand behind them, "What clues did you see?" Sandy took a deep breath to calm himself and they all watched his thoughts play out like a picture show, whilst he also pointed at how the dust had been stirred across the floor during the prior movements of the now missing suspects. First there was a silhouette of Pitch and a beautiful lady, (presumably the Queen Elsa of Arendelle that Jack had described), hiding under the bed and then another of a portal, and the silhouettes disappearing through it. Sandy traced the dust on the floor with his fingertip and it swirled into the air, tinged with the gold sand that was his creation, and he narrowed his eyes, Pitch would never touch his work again.

"Where do you think they went?" Toothiana asked, all of a flutter, her eyes darting from Sandy's thought bubble to Bunnymund's teeth and back again. An image of an abandoned old bed popped up in his thought bubble, making Toothiana blush. "That seems a bit inappropriate to be showing a lady mate" Bunnymund scolded him, but Toothiana giggled,

"Thank you for protecting my honour so gallantly Bunny but…Well that's the entrance to Pitch's lair, it just made me think…"

It was Bunnymund's turn to blush crimson, and he was glad nobody could see it through his fur. He scratched his ear with his hind leg awkwardly, muttering, "Right, well, that's okay then". North winked at him,

"That's very cute Bunny, how considerate of you". Bunnymund's whiskers twitched in embarrassment and Toothiana giggled, whilst Sandy just rolled his eyes, an hourglass popping up above his head with sand running through it.

North clapped his hands together, "Sandy's right, time is running out. We should take his lead and search Pitch's lair, that's the place we're most likely to run into him". Bunnymund thumped his hind leg against the wooden floorboards, and a giant gaping rabbit tunnel appeared, "This time we go my way, leave the sleigh here until we return, it will draw too much attention outside Pitch's lair". North nodded, an uneasy expression on his face,

"The sleigh is better" he said begrudgingly, but Bunnymund knew he had won this time and turned to the others with a serious expression on his face, "Wait until everyone gets there and we'll do a head count before we go in, the place could be crawling with Fearlings". They nodded and North clapped Bunnymund on the back, "I'll search for Jack, he said he was going to find the Queen".

Sandy gave an exasperated sigh, a question mark popping up above him and North smiled sadly, "Jack found another like himself and he won't let Pitch have her so easily". Sandy frowned and the question mark was replaced with a snowflake covered with a skull and cross bones, "Yes Queen Elsa is dangerous, she attacked Jack when he went after Pitch so we should be on our guard. I will help Jack persuade her to return with us, and you three can take care of Pitch I trust".

Bunnymund grabbed his boomerang off his back and squared his shoulders, "Aw mate, we're gonna destroy him". North nodded, and Bunnymund hopped through the rabbit hole, "See you on the other side!" He called out from the blackness far below them.

Toothiana fearlessly fluttered down behind him and Sandy moved forward to follow her, but North stopped him with his great arm barring his way. The Sandman turned to him, his mouth closed tightly and his eyes furious, "I know you're still mad at Pitch for turning your dreams to nightmares last time we had dealings with him, (and he attempted to kill you of course), but don't do anything reckless, we want to find out what he is up to, _not _antagonise him". Sandy crossed his arms grumpily, his thought bubble didn't need to explain how he felt, it was clear in the angry lines that crisscrossed his forehead as his eyebrows pulled downward in a scowl. North chuckled knowingly and gave him a little push towards the rabbit hole, (it wasn't just a hole, it was a magical underground tunnel that could take them to anywhere in the world in a manner of seconds, much faster than the sleigh, though North would never admit that out loud), making Sandy drop his hands to his sides in hopeless defeat. He couldn't stay angry at North, after all he meant well and he was the unspoken group leader. "Ok" the words popped up into the thought bubble above Sandy's head and he dove into the rabbit hole head first before North could ask him to promise anything more.

North felt satisfied with Sandy's answer but did not look forward to the trip that followed. He gulped as he stared into the seemingly endless black hole, his stomach turning over as he remembered the last rollercoaster ride Bunnymund had taken them on after they had collected Jack from his snowy mountainside retreat. "I'll see you soon Jack" he muttered, but there was no answer, he had not expected one and was glad that Arendelle had not noticed them or the Queen's disappearance yet. North knew it was only a matter of time before they did so they needed to act fast. He jumped into the abyss with his eyes shut tight and was swallowed by the darkness.


	10. Chapter 10: Caged

Chapter 10: Caged

Meanwhile in the underground palace Pitch and Elsa sat at either end of a long table, (it could sit at least twenty people), waiting for their breakfast. Nightmare men, (made of shadows, darkness and fear itself), set the table and offered them an array of sumptuous dishes: pancakes, eggs, bacon, all the usual breakfast foods. It was extremely odd to Elsa but also very much the same as what she had experienced all her life in Arendelle: being served by silent figures and showered with…everything, well except affection, but that was different here…

Elsa let her eyes wander over to Pitch and coughed lightly to get his attention. She accepted a plate of strawberries on the pretence of pretending she had been trying to attract the waiter's attention instead, but she knew that Pitch saw through that with a sly smile. He looked up at her from his plate of scrambled eggs, "This is lovely, thank you" Elsa said tentatively. Pitch blushed black, "It's the least I could do" he said silkily, as if it was nothing. Elsa watched him put his spoon to his lips and remembered the burning sensation of wild fire when his lips had caressed her own.

"I should go back soon" Elsa said regretfully, "My maid will come to wake me soon and everyone will realise I'm gone".

"Maybe they'll just think you're still asleep?" Pitch offered, stalling the inevitable conversation he knew they would have to go through after their intimate moments together last night; he could still remember Elsa's ice cold lips pressed against his own.

"We both know they'll soon work out that I'm gone" Elsa admitted, "What will we do?" Pitch hesitated, this was where he needed to follow through on his word, to make her his Queen forever, but he wasn't sure how that would work in Elsa's world. "Well…" he said, playing with his eggs with the tip of his spoon.

Then the moment was gone.

Pitch turned his head to the side slowly, setting his eyes upon a heavy iron door that was creaking open by a centimetre. It could have been a breeze, but Pitch knew better, the shadows beyond the door told him that somebody was there; he could feel it. Elsa didn't seem to notice, "Maybe they'll believe in you now" Elsa said hopefully, "That would make this whole situation-" Pitch held up a hand and silenced her. Elsa stopped talking and was about to feel annoyed when she felt the hair rise on her neck, she followed Pitch's gaze and saw the creaking door and knew that they were being watched.

The nightmare men standing guard beside Pitch looked to him for their orders, "Take Elsa away from here and protect her" he whispered. Elsa heard him and stood up in objection,

"I'm not leaving you!" Pitch stood up gracefully, holding out his hand and forming his black scythe with practised ease, "It was not a question" he told her coldly, and the nightmare men marched over to her and both took an arm of hers in their vice like grips. For creatures made of shadows and darkness, their grips were as strong as steel. Elsa struggled but they would not free her and she fumed at Pitch, her sparkling eyes hurt and confused, "I thought you wanted us to fight together!" Pitch turned away from her, towards the ajar door, "I realise now that your beauty does not lie in pain". Elsa caught her breath, his rejection of her help touched her but she still opened her mouth to protest. Once again he held up a hand to silence her, "I will bring you into the fight if need be but I want to protect you for as long as I can, now go Elsa, and trust me, I'll be fine".

Elsa's face crumpled as she realised that she could not stay with Pitch in this dark hour. She let the nightmare men pull her away through a massive stone archway and up a tall crumbling staircase. She kept her eyes on Pitch as he grew smaller and smaller, and just before he disappeared from sight, she saw Bunnymund, Toothiana and Sandy corner him like a wolf pack.

_Cowards_, Elsa thought, they had waited until he was alone.

The nightmare men pushed Elsa into what looked like a giant bird cage, and locked the door behind her. She rattled the cage bars desperately, "Hey! Don't leave me in here! I've got to help Pitch, he could get hurt down there!" The nightmare men ignored her and folded their arms, as they stood like soldiers on guard at the door of the cage.

Elsa looked down at her hands, they were shaking hard and she remembered the last time she had felt this helpless- it was when Hans had taken her prisoner and stolen her from the refuge of her ice palace. _But you were able to free yourself using your powers_, the small voice in Elsa's head reminded her, _all you have to do is break this cage_. Elsa glanced at the nightmare men, she didn't think they would hurt her, and she didn't want to hurt them, (I mean it wasn't their fault that Pitch had made them guard her), but she needed to try and escape so they had better not get in the way.

Elsa bit her lip nervously and then held her hands against one of the black iron bars of the cage, then concentrated all of her ice energy into that bar. Slowly the frost spread from her fingers up the bar until it covered the whole length of it, but nothing happened except a small cracking noise. Elsa watched the bar hopefully and the nightmare men turned around to watch what she was doing. They glared at her with their soulless eyes and Elsa glared back at them defiantly, if they thought she was going to sing sweetly for them like a song bird, they had another thing coming.

Just as Elsa turned away from them, to start attacking the next bar, an ice-beam flew past her head and straight at the nightmare men, hitting them with a loud splintering sound. When Elsa whirled around to see what had happened, all that was left of her guards were shards of darkness that fell to the ground to be swallowed by the shadows.

"Pitch" Elsa whispered foolishly, holding her hands in front of her defensively, for even as she spoke his name she knew it was not him who had come, there was only one other person that she knew who could shoot an ice-beam like that, "Jack Frost" she murmured, and the silver haired boy flew towards her from a dark landing opposite the cage. Pitch's palace seemed to be full of multiple levels, staircases, arches, cages and an overwhelming feeling that once you got in, you would never find your way out alone.

Elsa backed away from the bars of the cage, as Jack flew towards her and clung to the bars as he came to a halt before her, "You need a hand?" He offered gently, and Elsa saw the sparkling blue eyes just like hers and the skin as fair as snow, just like her own. She lowered her hands in a show of peace, 'Yes please" she answered in an embarrassed voice, whilst still holding her palms open in a position that left her ready to strike, if necessary. Jack smiled at her, his eyes twinkling mischievously, "You know where I come from, we trust the people who help us. If you keep your hands at the ready like that, I might just leave you in this cage". Elsa balled her hands into fists angrily; did she think Jack was like her? What she had meant to think was that he was like the annoying kid brother she never had.

"Well how can I trust you? You shot an ice-beam at me last time" Elsa accused him, her palms sweating with nerves and freezing over instantly. Jack shrugged carelessly, "That was just at Pitch because he was attacking me". Elsa stared at Jack in annoyance, he had a point there, Pitch had been unleashing his nightmare brumby upon the boy in his sleep. Elsa relaxed her hands finally, "I only want to get out of here so I can help Pitch" she said stubbornly, "So there's no point in helping me anyway".

Jack climbed across the cage to the locked door as Elsa kept a wary eye on him, "That's not true Queen Elsa because I want to change your mind".

"Excuse me?" Elsa asked him heatedly, who did this snow boy think he was? Marching into Pitch's castle and trying to steal her away from right under his nose. "You don't belong here" Jack said simply, examining the heavy black padlock that the nightmare men had closed on Elsa before their demise. "Ah yes I do" Elsa replied, her voice calmer as she tried to remain composed and in control, before she unleashed her pent up frustration on the only other winter spirit in this world.

Jack tapped the padlock with the tip of his staff and a burst of ice shot inside it, "Have you not noticed that you and I have the same powers yet? Because I thought our ice-beam fight made it kind of obvious". Jack chuckled and Elsa frowned at him,

"Of course I noticed, it was amazing…" her expression hardened, "But it doesn't mean I can't help Pitch".

"No it doesn't" Jack said fairly, jingling the padlock around now and pouring more ice into it, "But doesn't it make you feel like maybe you're on the wrong side here?"

"No" Elsa replied with strength she had not known she could possess, "Haven't you ever heard of the saying opposites attract?" Jack shook the padlock in frustration and put one hand on his hip as he took a break from the work, to give Elsa a lazy smile, "And that's your excuse is it? For dating the Nightmare King?" Elsa took a steady step towards him,

"I don't need an excuse" she told Jack, "I love him". Jack's eyes widened in shock and Elsa blushed crimson, surprising even herself by her sudden declaration and realisation of her feelings for Pitch Black.

Jack recovered from the shock quickly, and returned his attention to breaking open the padlock, "Well then you're not suited at all because I am sure that Pitch doesn't even know the meaning of love".

"How would you know?" Elsa asked shrewdly, "Have you asked him?" Jack shook his head solemnly, "I don't have to, anyone that thrives on fear cannot love".

"It wasn't his choice to be this way" Elsa said quietly, looking down at her own cold hands, frost blossoming at her fingertips as she struggled to control her emotions. "That is truer than you both realise" a booming voice announced, and Elsa held one hand up defensively, squinting into the darkness to identify the newcomer.

Jack turned around with a knowing smile on his face, "Hiding really isn't your style, is it?" North's great outline emerged as he made his way up the crumbling staircase to the cage, "Watching you trying to open that padlock tried my patience" he said jovially. He reached the top within a matter of seconds and Elsa cowered at how huge he was, standing three feet taller than Jack, making him look, more than ever, like a child.

Elsa lowered her hand; North did not look like the type of person she wanted to start a fight with. North crossed his burly arms, and his 'naughty' and 'nice' tattoos were exposed on his bare forearms. "Queen Elsa" he said in a surprisingly kind voice, "You need not be afraid". Elsa watched him warily in response, and North chuckled merrily, "Although you are on my naughty list".

"Sorry" Elsa stammered, and North raised his eyebrows at her in surprise,

"You feel bad for helping Nightmare King destroy my dream?" Elsa nodded, and North looked down at her with critical eyes, "You are perhaps on the wrong side" he said after a few moments. Elsa said nothing; she seemed to be hearing that a lot lately.

North picked Jack up by the shoulders to move him aside, and Jack straightened his hooded jumper when North set him down, "Jeez North, you could just ask me to move".

"This was more fun" North said simply, and took the padlock in his hand, "Also watching you do this was painful". Jack scowled but North didn't seem bothered, and retrieved a metal spike from his long red coat, trimmed with black fur. North reached into another pocket and pulled out a small hammer, that looked like it belonged in Santa's workshop with its glossy red handle.

"It won't work" Jack said, crossing his own arms with an amused smile on his face. North positioned the spike over the key spot for the padlock and knocked it with a heavy blow from the hammer. The ice splintered and with it the lock mechanism inside, the padlock clicked open and North pulled it off the cage and tossed it to Jack, "You were saying".

"Never mess with an ex-bandit" Jack muttered, and North chuckled,

"Old tricks come in handy". He opened the door easily and held his hand out to Elsa, "Hurry Queen Elsa, the nightmare men will return soon. Pitch will know we are here by now".

"But Jack destroyed them" Elsa said, confused by this apparent threat. North shook his head, "Jack broke them, yes, but darkness will always return to darkness and the shadows will report back to Pitch".

This was all rather baffling and Elsa wasn't sure what to believe. She took a step towards North, then hesitated, what if this was a trap? "How can I trust you?" Elsa asked suspiciously, and North sighed, heavily, his patience clearly thinning, "Man in Moon made us Guardians to protect, not harm". A stab of envy poked at Elsa but she ignored it, these people were trying to help her, she shouldn't be jealous of them. "Will you let me go?" She asked North, taking a tiny step towards his outstretched hand. This time North hesitated, and turned to Jack for an answer, 'If you really want to stay here, we won't make you leave. But I don't see the charm of being locked up in this cage".

"I'm not usually locked up" Elsa explained, her pale cheeks burning a deep crimson colour, like red roses against fresh white snow. North frowned at her sadly, clearly disbelieving, and leaned forward further to encourage her to hurry up and make a choice. Elsa took his hand slowly and he pulled her out of the cage with great strength, and set her down on the top of the staircase beside Jack.

"You two look cute together" he said in sudden realisation himself, laughter dancing in his eyes as they crinkled in a smile. Jack blushed in embarrassment, looking away at the labyrinth of stairs and entrances that filled the decomposing palace, "Thanks North" he said sarcastically. "What? I'm serious" North protested, and he beamed at them, "It's nice for Jack to have a friend like him".

Elsa nodded, she felt the same way because it was comforting to know that Jack Frost had the same powers as her. "Well, we should get going. You're sure you want to stay? We were planning on getting you out of here you know, kind of came all this way…" Jack trailed off and shuffled his feet awkwardly. Elsa wrapped her arms around her waist, "I can't leave, I couldn't do that to Pitch". North clapped a heavy hand to Jack's shoulder, almost making him buckle over, "Time to go Jack or Bunny will be bragging about his battle royale with Pitch for years".

Elsa's eyes almost popped out of her head because she opened them up so wide, "Oh no! I completely forgot about that!"

"We should hurry" Jack said earnestly, "Sandy is still pretty mad about Pitch's last attempt on his life". Elsa pretended that she didn't hear that last part, and North pulled his twin swords from the sheath on his back in a flash. Elsa almost fainted from shock and at being so close to the twin blades, so Jack held her shoulders to steady her, "Hey, we're not gonna hurt you, we're friends now, right?"

"Right" Elsa said in a daze, her mind reeling at the electric current that Jack's frosty touch sent through her, as his ice power reacted to hers like static.

"Follow me" North commanded, rushing down the stairs, his swords held in front of him in a deadly stance. Jack took Elsa by the hand and dragged her along in North's wake, "C'mon we don't want you getting locked up again". Elsa nodded, and picked her feet up to follow North down the stairs and back to the dining room, where she had happily sat with Pitch this morning. She dreaded what she would find when she returned there, and what she might have to do to save Pitch from the Guardians.

For you see, Elsa had made her choice: she would always be on Pitch's side, and that was right by her. Wrong was just a matter of perspective. Elsa pushed away the doubt creeping in on her about the things they'd done to the Guardians, and realised that next time she helped Pitch, they'd have to think of a better plan, one that didn't hurt those that had helped her, and one that didn't hurt Jack... She felt her heart resolve on this and smiled, they'd find the right way to make him believed in, and he'd never leave her just as she would always be there for him, even in this, his darkest hour, she was coming for him.


End file.
